


Blue Eyes Always Haunting Me

by psychicScavenger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bad Touch, Ballet Dancer Lance (Voltron), Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Body mutilation, Creepy, Detective Keith (Voltron), Detective Shiro (Voltron), Don't Like Don't Read, Fluff, Graphic Description of Corpses, Kidnapping, M/M, Model Lance (Voltron), Mutilation, Mystery, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Serial Killer, Stalking, Veronica is a little shit, adding tags as I go, seriously very descriptive violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-07-05 05:09:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 70,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15856839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychicScavenger/pseuds/psychicScavenger
Summary: With the bodies stacking up, Keith has little time left to figure out and catch this serial killer. His calling card? Brilliant blue eyes cut out from magazines and mutilated body parts. Keith, with the help of the precinct and his boyfriend, Shiro, has to solve this case fast before the whole city of Altea goes into a panic. It doesn't help that a certain stretchy neighbor has also caught his attention.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some Criminal Minds episodes and my need for some shklance drama and love, I birthed this beauty instead of finishing other projects. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, before you read this fic keep in mind there will be violence, non-con, stalking, kidnapping, and lots of death from background characters, characters who are specifically of the LGBT Latinx community so please keep that in mind before you read. If that is something you don't think you can handle, please keep yourselves safe and read at your own discretion or don't read at all, not trying to sound mean, just reminding ya'll to be responsible, if at some point you're uncomfortable, it's okay to just log out at anytime, you have the power, just remember that. Not trying to toot my own horn, cuz I definitely am not a hardcore experienced writer but these days you never know and its better to be safe than sorry. If you're still curious about what happens but don't want to read the fic, you can always happily shoot me a message on tumblr in private if you wanna, and I'll gladly tell you what you want to know! You can find me under the same penname on tumblr, I can't promise I'll answer ur message quickly, but I will get to it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)

The hot summer night was roaring with noise, more than the typical city night life on an average Thursday evening. You could hear the rush of late night traffic, all the younger generation looking for a fun night out, scoping out the club scene, in the distance a police siren chasing after a speeding Escalade, maybe the ruckus of a group of people hanging out in the alleyways or the streets with nowhere to go. Keith gazed at all the lights drifting on and off in apartments around him. The glow from the added street lamps gave the night a more somber feeling to it, although that could be from the dead body than anything else.

“Keith.” Keith spun around, facing a tall woman with silvery white hair but in the lack of lighting, it looked more blueish-gray. She stood outside the entrance to an alleyway, right between some mom-and-pop grocery and a video rental store. Keith followed the woman, his superior and Captain, Allura, into the alley.

“Responding officers identified the victim as Carlos Lopez, he was found by the son of the Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, the owners of the grocery next door, as he was closing up. Lopez was twenty-seven, worked as a cashier at an arts and crafts store. Lived downtown off seventh street, with his roommate Benny Valdez who said Carlos was a very likable man, always helpful and friendly towards his neighbors, friends, and even strangers, often volunteering at the homeless shelter.” Allura informed as she led Keith further into the alley where several officers lingered, some yellow tape guarding the closed off section where parts of the body was lying lifelessly against some trash, torso partially hidden by a dumpster. To Keith it could’ve looked like another drunkard, possibly passed out from all the nightlife activity but as Keith got closer he saw all the dark maroon stains surrounding the torso and other body parts, as well as splatters decorating the sides of the building and the ground. There were dragged blood marks leading from the body towards a spot closer to the entrance of the alleyway. The spot had markers around it, with notable traces of blood indicating this was where the victim was struck.

“Carlos had been lured into the alleyway somehow, he was struck down right here by a stray pipe thats been bagged by evidence. He was dragged to his current spot where the suspect began the dismemberment.” Keith paused in his place, having crouched to study the blood patterns when the last part of his captain’s words hit him.

“So Carlos-“

“Was found just like the others. Arms and legs cut off, head and torso still intact with eyes completely removed from the skull, as if they were just scooped out.” Allura confirmed watching intently as Keith hurried over to the body to inspect it, removing the privacy sheet from around the head area and frowning as he was met with the same hollow space from lack of eyes that have haunted him the past few weeks.

Like the other two victims, Carlos’s eyes were removed carefully, traces of blood lingering around the eyelids and a few droplets dried on his cheeks. The weirdest part about this though, was a pair of eyes as if they were cut out from a magazine, were placed over the lids. The cut out eyes were an unnaturally bright, stunning shade of blue that glimmered in the low light. Keith shuddered recalling the first time he stared into those eyes, so mirthful like they knew who exactly was responsible for these crimes and amused that he didn’t.

“Same eyes again.” Keith noted aloud as Allura came up behind him.

“Yep, same as the other two victims in every way. Carlos also had no family living close by, no family connections or ties, and he was a young Latino male.” Allura sighed grimly.

Keith placed the sheet over the victim gently, feeling a bit stupid for it, before he stood up to face Allura a hard frown tugging on his face.

“Do you think our suspect is motivated to kill because of race?” Keith asked as Allura shook her head.

“In a way maybe, but I think it’s more than that. The first victim was Puerto Rican, the second was Mexican, Carlos is Mexican as well so while they don’t have the same ethnicity, there is a notable pattern of our perp murdering only Latino males to warrant this as a hate crime but given the similar features, similar lifestyles, these victims may represent someone he knows.”

“But why the eyes? What’s the significance of these eyes and removing the victim’s?” Keith muttered as he marched away from the scene of the crime, Allura following him after.

“Well its often said that the eyes are windows to a person’s soul. Maybe our killer saw something in each of these men he didn’t like.” Allura replied honestly as Keith hovered by his motorbike.

“And replace them with these?” Keith asked as he gestured towards the cutout eyes. Allura smirked.

“That’s what you’re here for. To figure it out.” She teased as Keith sulked.

“Is this your way of getting me to do more extensive background checks of our victims and basically confine me to desk duty?” Keith huffed, clearly unhappy as Allura smiled back at him.

“Only the best part of the job! I know you can do it Keith!” She cheered as they exited the alleyway. Keith grunted before sliding back onto his bike. Another wonderful start to another wonderful week of investigating.

Keith revved the bike up, mostly doing it to piss off the lingering officers and cleanup crew before he sailed down the street, tires barely kissing the road as the machine roared throughout the night.

 

********

Keith kicked open his door after unlocking it, not caring about the already growing hole from the doorknob, or his security deposit for that matter. His arms were full of two heavy crates, cases for him to pour over in his downtime when he wasn't working on the ‘Blue-Eyed Butcher’ case as the stupid media has been calling their suspect. 

Which is so backwards, making the killer seem like they were after those with blue eyes and not the other way around. Stupid media. 

Keith grunted as he slammed the boxes on his desk, sighing in relief while he gazed around the sparsely decorated apartment he recently moved into. Despite Shiro’s suggestions of making the place more ‘homey’, all Keith had really done with the place is hang up a few framed newspaper articles relating to cases both his parents had solved during their times on the force, as well as the wall mounted trophy case, showing off his prized knife collection. It was a pretty cool collection, despite what other people thought, even Shiro going as far as calling it slightly ‘barbaric’. Which it wasn’t!

He also had some furniture set up, but since most of his days were spent at the precinct than his own home, Keith had paid it little attention.

Getting the proper fixings to make a sandwich, Keith’s eyes skimmed over one framed article, detailing his recent solved case. Thankfully it had only been a drug bust, with Keith working on a task force and eventually bringing down a kingpin on his own that led to his promotion and new digs as well as a new change of environment where there were more crimes. He won’t lie, he and Shiro did have sex in front of it the day Shiro presented it to him like a proud kid showing their drawing to their parent. 

Sandwich in one hand, a beer in the other, Keith plopped into the desk chair, propping his feet up as he began to take a look at one of the cases he brought home. Normally, a detective had to have the proper authorization to take home case files, but with Keith’s skills and Allura’s thirst for justice, he was practically walking home every evening with unsolved cases and coming back with at least some solved ones every morning. Shiro may have disapproved of his hobby, but if his hobby also brought some justice into this shitty world, who was he to stop him?  Some loud music caught Keith’s attention and he curiously looked up. His desk location, which was situated right against the window where he can look out and face the courtyard, would seem like a cry for distraction and not getting anything done, however with Keith’s hyper fixation on solving cases and doing his job to the point he would forget to eat and sleep, he didn’t have anything to worry about, unless of course _he_ was home.

Such was the case, as Keith completely forgot all about the file he was reading and instead stared at the ethereal being across the courtyard. His apartment complex was one of those buildings that wrapped around a small little bit of land that made up the courtyard with four buildings surrounding it. The main building which was also the main entrance, was the landlords office, the gym, and laundromat for the studio apartments. One building had small family sized apartments, with penthouses at the very top, he was in the building that was mostly one or two bedroom apartments, while the building across from his were the small studio apartments with large windows. Looking out, you could see everyone through the windows, provided they didn’t have any blinds or curtains in the way. At first, Keith had been bothered by this, knowing and having had to arrest peeping toms in the past, but now he was hardly at home so it didn’t bother him much anymore. Plus their building was guarded by a doorman, the courtyard was resident access only, and it was in a nicer part of the city, maybe not the wealthy standard of living, but compared to the neighborhoods Keith has been to on the job, this was way nicer.

Back to the current distraction, the ethereal beauty was currently stretching in front of the window of their studio apartment. Keith leaned back in his chair, watching as the young man, probably around his age, continued stretching before twirling on the tip of his toes, right before Keith’s eyes and landing into a low bow. The dark tan skin glowed under the soft lights from the man’s apartment and the sinewy limbs moved effortlessly as if dancing underwater. The man was so graceful, Keith hadn’t been able to stop staring ever since he first laid eyes on this person. He was probably one of the only few people in Keith’s life aside from Shiro who made his heart do that weird ‘ _ba-bump!’_ thing like they describe in movies and sappy fan-fiction. 

And yeah, there were a couple times Keith scolded himself for basically acting like a peeper, just creeping on his neighbor like that, but also because he was in a relationship for Christ's sake! It wasn’t like Shiro didn’t fulfill that emptiness in his life, he certainly could and has already, it’s just, the neighbor had some kind of bewitching presence about them.

He also wasn’t staring at Legs, a nickname he thought fit the handsome stranger, just because he was beautiful to watch, Keith was mostly mesmerized by the dancing obviously. He once even found himself googling descriptions of some of the dance moves out of curiosity in case he ever ran into the dancer. 

Not like that was gonna happen, but still Keith wanted to be prepared for when it did.

With his feet kicked back, and a beer in hand, Keith tore his gaze away from Legs for the moment and went back to his work. Usually when he worked on other cases and solved them, it cleared his mind up and refreshed his brain to handle the more challenging cases. With the recent murders popping up and becoming more frequent, Keith needed every charged brain cell he could get. That’s why a couple hours later when he was so hyper focused on this one case about a missing mini-coop and feuding couple blaming each other, he was startled when his phone went off, the telltale ringtone giving away who exactly would call Keith this late at night. He groaned as he stretched his sore muscles from the hunched over position he was in before picking up his phone and answering the call.

“Hey.”

 _“Hey, judging by your voice, I must be disturbing some brilliant detective work going on.”_ Keith snorted as he tossed a file away from himself before getting up and stretching.

“You’re not calling to complain about my hobby again are you?” Keith asked warily as he glanced out the window, seeing the lights were now off in Legs’ apartment.

 _“And listen to another rant about how healthy it is for you to take cases home so you can work yourself to death and never give yourself a break…Always.”_ Keith chuckled, feeling his heart warm just a bit as he paced around the apartment, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

“Aren’t you sappy today..why are you calling so late anyways?”

 _“I know how you are, after the recent victim of the ‘Blue-Eyed Butcher’ I knew you’d be pouring over easy cases until you collapsed. I called you to remind you there is such a thing as sleeping and giving your mind a break.”_ Keith scoffed, a noise that brought a chuckle from the other end of the phone.

“Shiro you don’t need to take care of me. Also who are you to get on me for not sleeping when you're also up at this hour, doing what? Listening in on the dispatch radio reports once again?” From the quiet pause, Keith knew instantly that was what Shiro had been doing.

“Shiro for the last time-”

 _“I know, I know, you’re working the butcher case, I’m very aware. Can’t blame a former detective for getting interested in a murder investigation, right?”_ Shiro chuckled as Keith sighed.

“Yeah guess I can’t. Although you didn’t have to go and become a Captain if you wanted to stay a detective.”

 _“And what about all the encouraging speeches you gave me? All the ‘Shiro if you don’t accept the Captain position, I’ll slap some sense into you myself’ pep talks? Were those just a ploy all along?!”_ Keith smiled in response.

“Of course. I just wanted to have sex with you wearing that captain’s hat.” At Shiro’s exaggerated gasp Keith couldn’t help but laugh a bit, feeling like he was a teenager with a big dumb crush. Although this thing between them started with a big dumb crush. They had met at the 95th precinct when Keith was just starting out there. Over time, they grew close, solving quite a few cases together until Shiro was up for a captain’s position in the 94th. The two continued their friendship with it soon molding into a relationship that was still new to them both. Keith knew he wanted to ride the other’s dick when he first met him. Shiro being the ever polite one, had stated he thought Keith had nice eyes. It was love at first sight. 

Of course with this being Keith’s first relationship, he didn’t know what to do or what to say, he usually kept his emotions bottled up yet Shiro had a way of just getting Keith to let out his pent up feelings and frustrations. They often went to the gym together, Shiro helping Keith take out any work related stress on the foam dummies to practice on, or they would curl up and watch some TV, and there were the nightly phone calls. It was very nice and pleasant. 

So why was Keith currently checking out his neighbor when he had the dictionary definition of the world’s most perfect boyfriend?

 _“Really? I assumed you just wanted to sleep in an actual bed.”_ Shiro chuckled as Keith scoffed.

“I have a bed.”

 _“An air mattress doesn’t count.”_ Keith pouted a bit, glad Shiro wasn’t there to see it.

“Don’t make me call the police on you.” Keith threatened smiling as he heard a loud laugh on the other side.

_“Okay, okay I’m going. When I hang up, you better get some rest or I’ll send someone worse than the police.”_

“Please, who can be worse than-”

_“Allura.”_

The silence that followed seemed enough to satisfy Shiro as he chuckled before wishing Keith a good night.

“Yeah, thats fair. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Keith asked, getting a confirmation in response. With that conversation over, Keith stretched before turning back to the window, glancing over at the darkened apartment before his gaze travelled up to one of the very top penthouse suites. The lights were on and beaming bright, creating an eerie feeling amongst the darkness of night and dim streetlights. Keith frowned wondering what somebody could be up to at this hour of the night, forgetting he himself was also up pretty late when he spotted a shadow emerge. Keith couldn’t make out the persons features but the slim, tall figure stood by the windows watching outside without moving. Keith shivered, a cold chill crawling up his spine as he turned away from the window, deciding to take Shiro’s advice once again and pass out on his air mattress for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments so far! I'll be honest I've never written a polyamorous relationship before but I've written both klance(Smokey the Bear Has Nothing on You) and shance(Hello Officer~, How To Steal A Million) so I'm excited to write the three of them together! Anyways, enjoy~

The figure sweated intensely with some of the salty drops getting in his eyes, blurring his vision just a bit more as he struggled against his assailant. He had woken up feeling like something wasn’t right when he noticed the weird shadow hiding in the darkness a little too late. Now, he wrestled in his sheets trying to get out from under the pillow his attacker was currently trying to smother him with. He tried kicking out his legs, moving his arms, but all his limbs were pinned underneath the heavy figure, a man, he realized as he could make out the large broad shoulders and strong grip that could only belong to a male. He screamed as loud as he could, but it was muffled by the fabric every time as the man above him grinned wickedly, eyes shining with such enjoyment and looking so deranged. 

“Shhh just lie back and take it.” He whispered, his voice so light and teasing it made the man underneath him whimper more. With a second strength coming out of nowhere, the figure pressed the pillow more into his victim’s face, the hoarse screaming and thrashing soon dying down leaving behind a lifeless body. The killer eased back, a bit sad the thrill was over but next came the fun part, the molding. Grabbing his small machete knife, the killer flipped the knife around in their hand, playing with it a little bit to watch the light reflect off the blade.

“Hmm where should I start first?” They muttered, eyes flicking over the body still covered partially by bedsheets. Confronting his next victim in their home was a genius idea. The young man lived alone in one of the nicest penthouse apartments nearby his hunting grounds and he had no neighbors. It was perfect.

He had been observing him for a while now, thinking he looked so perfect, almost eerily similar to the object of his affections. The smile, the laugh, even his hair was trimmed like _his._ He eagerly held up his knife and started slicing up flesh right away, as this part always took a long time, even the first one had taken all night and that had merely been an impulse kill.

He felt his jaw tighten as he recalled the first one, so cocky and arrogant, it was such a joy cutting him apart, limb by limb. It was certainly messy too, not that he cared. He was after that thrill, the euphoria of being with the man he loved so passionately, these simpletons could only ever wish they were more like _him_. So he had snapped that first time, the man was just a simple hook up at the time but after being forced to bear mind-numbing boredom, he couldn't take it anymore. He wound up discovering a new thrill that night as well as a way to satisfy his cravings for his love. Thankfully he’d been careful the last two times, making sure to always wear protective gear to cover his clothing and shoes. If the law found out he was behind this not even his father’s reputation could protect him or their company. So he had to keep careful, choose his victims wisely, always go for the ones with no family around, even better if they had no close friends. The smart decision would be to stop killing but really, where was the fun in that?

With his work cut out for him, the killer spent the next few hours cutting and sawing through flesh and bone. It was always quite the workout but the task wasn’t difficult for him. Once the tedious part was over, he got to play with his victim’s limbs, carefully arranging them as if they were an art peice. When the clock read a little after four am, the killer sat back on his haunches admiring the blood soaked sheets while gripping the left mangled arm delicately, some flesh bits sliding off and piling along the deceased’s stomach, or what was left of it. He switched the legs around, making sure the position was absolutely correct before he leaned back admiring the view. It was now time for the grande finale.

Leaning forward, he gripped the victim’s head, forcing the eyelids open, as he gazed into the lovely chocolate browns this person had. 

“You have nice eyes..but they’re not beautiful.” The killer purred before he grabbed and yanked each eyeball in his hands, enjoying the squishy optic nerves and blood vessels that hung off the back of the eyeballs. He tossed them into a little plastic bag, he always liked to keep mementos of his killings, before stripping off the bloody gloves and producing a clean fresh pair. Whipping out a piece of paper from his pocket, the killer carefully unfolded the paper, some page ripped out of a magazine, as he also took out some scissors. He carefully cut out what he wanted and gently closing the lids on the body, he placed each delicate scrap of paper over the lids. When he removed his hands, he smiled as he locked eyes with a stunning pair of blue ones.

Perfect.

He packed up everything after that, quickly removing any protective gear, making sure not to spill any remains or blood on himself in the process. Storing everything in a cheap disposable backpack, he was sharply dressed and clean just as he entered the penthouse, he would dispose of the backpack once he was home, taking one last longing look at the body and the familiar position it was laying in. With a smile and double check to make sure there wasn’t anything amiss about his appearance(not that it would matter, he would burn any trace of his hobby he found), he was satisfied as he headed outside and locked the door behind himself, disappearing into the dark night.

 

*********

 

“Lance!” 

The man in question uprighted himself from the stretch he was in the middle of, to give the Director of the dance production company he worked for a curious look.

“Yes sir?” The man simply waved him onward, standing next to the production’s financing coordinator and one of the head dance instructors. Lance headed in their direction, bare feet padding quietly along the floor as one by one, the other dancers gave him scrutinizing gazes. Once he was out in the hall, Lance followed the three men to the main offices, occasionally glancing around the spacious halls and various practice rooms filled with other dancers practicing for the upcoming recital season. At the sound of a stern cough, he quickly turned to face the director; gesturing madly to his office which he finally entered, plopping himself in a cushion chair like the other two men, the director following suit. 

“How are you doing Lance..uh, um..”

“McClain.”

“McClain! Tip of my tongue I swear, anyways how are you holding up here so far?” The director asked, making Lance feel a little uncertain where this conversation was going, with all three of their gazes focused on him.

“I’m doing good. I’m getting along with everyone here so far..and my modeling contract doesn’t get in the way of practice.” Lance quickly added, worried this meeting was about that.

“That’s good you know what else is good? Money.” The finance coordinator spoke up. Lance wanted to say his name was something basic like, Mark? John? Jim? Lance felt his palms starting to sweat wondering if this meeting was about to be some bad news when his instructor Paolo, leaned over and slapped maybe-Mark-John-or-Jim’s hand.

“Stop scaring the young lad! This is good news we’re about to share with him!” He spoke delighted even though Lance felt the complete opposite.

“Good news?”

“Yes! You see Lance, during one of your practice sessions we had a group of patrons come tour the facility, show them where their money’s being spent and all that, but one of our patrons took a liking to you instantly! Even recognized you from your performance in _Night and Day_ as a naiad…” The director spoke, sounding a little confused from his own explanation when the instructor popped in.

“Apparently he liked your foot work so much, he wants to see you star in our Spring production!” Paolo announced with a grand sweep of his arms like he was Oprah. Lance blinked in response.

“That..is good news but I’m still new here. I thought it a was a rule of seniority status to get the main roles.” Lance pointed out watching as the director and instructor nodded their heads.

“Yes normally we do try to honor our long time dancers getting the biggest parts, but in this special case we’re going to let you have the next lead role in our production of _Ocean’s Kingdom._ The role of a princess will just have to become a prince I guess.” The director sighed as Paolo clapped his hands.

“Yes! Let’s gay it up! Bring some Pride spirit in here!” He chanted ignoring the exasperated looks thrown his way. Lance waved his hand a little, hoping to gain back the attention a little.

“So what does me getting the best part have to do with the sponsor? I’ve only had small parts since I started dancing here…This better not be like a scholarship thing where I have to go back and do seven years of school for this?” Lance asked suspicious. The director shook his head.

“Oh god no, it’s just this asshole has a shit ton of money and if we don’t give you a main part, he’ll pull his donations…And we could use the money too. We need a new espresso machine, some dick-head programmed our current one to speak only Italian and none of us know Italian.” The director sighed, like all the life had been sucked away from him as the instructor waved him off.

“Don’t be so dramatic Terry! This is a wonderful opportunity for you darling! What we need to do next is set up a patron lunch between you and this man and hopefully this will encourage him to spend more, cause let’s be honest, we need a damn cappuccino machine if we’re getting a new espresso machine. Some of us like to sleep.”

“You can sleep when production season is over.” Terry threatened tiredly as Lance glanced at the three older men unamused.

“May I go now? If I’m to star as the lead, I’m going to need some extra practice that calls for extra stretching!” Lance declared. With a wave of dismissal from the director, Lance left the office. He got lost in his thoughts about the whole thing, he should be feeling elated right? He just scored a main lead in their upcoming Spring production but he was still mystified over the whole mysterious patron ordeal. He tried to think back to when all the patrons had visited, hoping to recall the face of one patron who possibly could’ve been watching him the most, but his mind came up empty. The main lead in the Spring production! Oh, he can’t wait to tell the whole family! He knew his mama would be calling everyone in their extended family to tell them the news. Hell, his whole family and family friends back home could fill up the entire auditorium! He was going to be under alot of stress what with practice and rehearsing for the role but there was also his modeling career. Sure it was just a few gigs from time to time but the Summer season was the biggest! Just last year, he scored big time by doing a photoshoot for Gucci for some high end cologne ad.

The stuff smelled like shit, but hey, whatever pays his rent.

The day continued as usual, he got to stop by his friend, Hunk’s bakery, and grab himself a coffee before heading home, thinking he deserved a treat after the events of today.

He was just entering the main building of his apartment to check his mail when he rammed into someone, spilling iced coffee all over his thin t-shirt and tights, cold liquid dripping into his shoes. Lance froze on the spot, distraught overwhelming him as he continued staring at the sodden fabric covering his legs and now empty coffee cup laying on the ground before quickly channeling his frustration towards his attacker. 

“Are you serious?!” Lance exclaimed, looking up to see who his attacker was when he was greeted by a pair of stunned violet eyes and a dark haired mullet of all things. He was dressed like some wannabe biker with the dark shirt and pants and a leather jacket of all things. Lance wondered whether the coffee was getting warm or if it was just him, when the man coughed, stretching his hand out to help Lance up, who hadn’t even realized he’d fallen.

“Thanks. So much for my coffee hu-”

“Why were you running in here like that?” Mullet demanded, eyes flashing with what resembled annoyance as Lance gaped at the angry mullet-man in disbelief.

“What? Me running? I was just _walking_ in here when you slammed into me! Why are you slamming into people huh? That’s rude!” Lance accused, spilled coffee forgotten as he leapt back a bit to put some distance between himself and this rude, mullet-man who had great eyebrows, he noticed with slight envy.

“It wasn’t on purpose! I don’t just slam into people!” He argued but Lance wasn’t having any of it.

“Oh really? Could’ve fooled me! If you had hurt me, I would’ve sued you!” Lance threatened face burning in anger as Mullet scoffed.

“Oh really? For what?”

“Well..for my livelihood! If you so much as damaged these gams, my career would be over!” Lance lifted one of his coffee soaked legs in front of the mullet-man, completely missing the zoned-out, impressed glance from the other at being able to shove his leg up so high and at so close an angle.

“Wow..thats, I mean! Alright. Fine. I apologize for running into you.” Mullet-man coughed, hoping he wasn’t being too obvious with his ogling as Legs lowered his long, very toned leg, from his face.

“Apology accepted. Technically you still owe me a coffee..” Lance trailed off which earned him a glare that made him quickly reconsider. “But we don’t have to worry about it hehe. I can get another one for free anyways.” Lance waved off unconcerned which mullet-man gave him a curious look.

“Really? From where?” If there was a coffeeshop type place just giving away that liquid black gold, then yeah Keith wanted to know asap. Legs brightened as he puffed up with pride after noticing the other’s interest.

“My best friend! He owns this place on fifth street called Balmera Brew! It’s amazing! You should go sometime!” He smiled drawing out a small smile from Keith as well.

“I’ve been there, they have pretty good coffee. Do you know Hunk?”

“Do I?! He’s my best friend!” Lance declared which drew a small chuckle out of Keith.

“Huh..well anyone who knows Hunk and gets free coffees from him must be pretty nice themselves.” Keith pointed out drawing out a smirk from Legs.

“Only when I’m not feeling naughty. I’ll recommend you to him next time! What’s your name handsome?” Keith sputtered at the first part, nearly forgetting Legs’ question and blushing when the words finally caught up to him.

“I-it’s Keith. I live in the ‘Red’ building.” Keith held out his hand to shake which Lance gladly did so, excitement showing in his grip as he eagerly shook hands.

“I’m Lance! I live across from you, in the ‘Blue’ building!” Keith almost said, ‘I know’ but quickly held himself back in fear of what kind of response that certainly would’ve gotten him. Judging from the already dramatic response of just bumping into the man, he suspected telling Lance he sometimes watched him as he stretched late at night in nothing but a leotard, probably wouldn’t elicit the best response.

“Cool, maybe I’ll see you around sometime?” Keith asked, a slight wishful tone in his voice that he sincerely hoped didn’t make him seem desperate. Lance merely smiled and christ, if that heartbeat of his didn’t already feel like it was playing the bongos, it certainly was now.

“Maybe. Hasta la later Mullet!” Lance called, laughing giddily at Keith’s indignant shout at the nickname. He hurried towards the mail room as Keith chuckled to himself watching the beautiful man, in obscenely wet tights, walk away, trying hard not to stare at his ass and failing. His phone went off right then, drawing out a quiet curse as he pulled his phone out from his pocket before he glanced at the caller ID and quickly shoved the receiver against his ear. “Allura?”

 _"Keith you need to come to the precinct, Pidge found something that may connect all the victims to each other. We may have a lead.”_ Keith promptly hung up after that, knowing Allura wouldn’t have minded the rudeness as he dashed outside, heading straight for the parking deck for his motorbike.

 

********

 

Lance watched Keith sprint outside, wondering what made him run so fast like that, when he gasped at the blazing sirens, the red and blue lights flashing on his motorcycle, flying off in the distance along with the moody cop on it. Lance shivered, he can’t believe he just ran into a sexy cop! A mean, broody, sexy cop but still a sexy cop! And he lived in the same apartment complex! This day was just getting better and better! 

With a bounce in his step, Lance grabbed his mail before heading off towards the Blue building that housed studio apartments like his. He’d only lived here for about less than a year but so far he enjoyed it. The community was nice, the artsy lady who lived next door and baked vegan cookies was pretty kind to him, and it was a decent walk to the dance studio and a short distance to the city where his modeling agency worked. There were some annoying features though, for example, he had to go all the way to the main building to do his laundry since studios didn’t have washer/dryer units installed, it was also rather small, but at least it was cozy and he did very well for himself in making it feel like home. 

That didn’t cover the weird knocking though. Lance frowned as he thought about how the past few weeks some dumb person, probably some pesky teenagers, had been knocking on his door late at night and whenever he went to answer it, there was no-one there.

It was very spooky at first. Lance almost called his Mama, thinking about his past fears of the boogeyman, or worse, the Lusca with its large, life-squeezing tentacles and sharp jagged teeth as his mean older brother, Marco described to him one day at the beach. Lance still hadn’t forgiven him for that one, it was not something you should ever tell a five year old when they’re swimming out in the ocean. 

Lance frowned, his back straightening up and shaking off those negative thoughts as he approached the stairs leading to the second floor. As he was laughing at himself for being so paranoid, he reached for the doorknob only to notice his door was cracked open and not locked like he had left it that morning…

 Lance froze, staring into his dark, empty apartment through the door crack as all of his fears came rushing back to him. 

********

 

Keith hurried into the precinct, almost mowing over some cops who were in the way, but at this point, everyone knew if you saw Kogane rushing in, you best get the hell out of the way. He stormed into the Captain’s office, almost slamming the door as Pidge, their I.T. genius and another detective glanced up as Allura waved Keith over.

“Come, Pidge has something for us.”

“I hope it’s not something that will explode in our faces like the last time.” Keith muttered as Pidge rolled their eyes before pointing at a website called Facebook. Keith leaned in, confused until he recognized the profile picture belonging to one of the victims of their murderer. 

“I got access to all the victim’s social media accounts to look for any other possible links between them that could be motives for our ‘butcher’. Guess what I found?”

“A new way to hack into someone’s private accounts?”

“No…Well yes, but I discovered that all our victims attended the same bar, some place called the Queer Pong.” Pidge rolled their eyes as Allura snickered. Keith just gave them both a flat look.

“I don’t get it.” He stated as Pidge snorted.

“Of course. Anyways, the first victim, Jason Garcia, posted to his Facebook account that he was at the Queer Pong on the same night he was found dead and;” Pidge quickly tapped some keys switching to another website, some person’s Instagram account before pointing at one of the person’s photos. “This is Eduardo’s, our second victim’s, Instagram. The night he was murdered, he posted a picture of some cocktail with people dancing in the background. The location states he was at the same bar the first victim was at. I did a little more digging on our third victim and found he also had attended the same bar the night he was murdered. My theory is that our killer is getting their victims through this bar.” Pidge explained as Keith and Allura straightened.

“That’s where he hunts then. God, if the media gets a word of this it’s gonna be a circus.” Keith groaned as Pidge nodded.

“Yeah not only is this dirtbag murdering young Latino men, but members of the LGBT community as well! It’s just going to send the whole city into a panic! We’ll be under alot of pressure from the city commissioner to solve this thing faster.” Allura nodded, her steely expression not wavering once as she spoke, “Which could lead us to arrest the wrong perp. And with the media attention, our perp could get bolder.”

“Lets head down to the bar then, ask the owners if they recognize these guys and anyone talking to them. It’s a start at least.” Keith declared, grabbing all the necessary items for the trip as Allura’s phone started ringing. While she dealt with that, Keith and Pidge glanced over the victim’s Instagram once more, Keith making sure to memorize each and every person’s face in the photos taken inside the bar when Allura slammed the phone down, causing both the detectives to jump from the sound. Keith and Pidge gave her matching looks of confusion until Allura turned to face them, a grim expression all over her face.

“The bar will have to wait. There’s been another one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet Lance! Anyone loving the professional dancer/model Lance idea so far?
> 
> Also..a bar called the Queer Pong would be the funniest/best name for an LGBT bar. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro anxiously hovered by the dispatch radio in his office. Of course this would be the time he’d be catching up on paperwork, this being downtime and all but with all his detectives out on cases, and now a new victim of the ‘Blue-Eyed Butcher’ was found, he couldn’t bring himself to focus. He’s always been like that though in the force, he was told by his superiors his need to help others would be his downfall one day, which yeah it did. In his opinion losing his arm over the cost of another young man’s life had been worth it. He’d learn to write left-handed eventually. Thankfully the family of the man he saved, were excellent engineers in biotechnology and had fashioned him a state-of-the-art prosthetic which was pretty ‘handy’ at times. Hehe.

He’ll have to save that one later for Keith.

The dispatch crackled, Shiro pausing to lean in closer to listen, hearing some reports back from the cops describing the victim, where he was found, and the detectives on site. He smiled listening as Keith’s voice came through the static, barking orders to the responding officers. He admitted he would get a bit worried about Keith from time to time, now that they were officially dating, but he also knew Keith was capable of handling himself. Those long hours at the gym had proven so.

A loud knock had Shiro pausing with his hobby, turning the volume down as a frazzled Slav came rushing in, tossing some papers on his desk.

“Um, Slav?” Shiro questioned, gesturing towards the messy papers. It was an out of character thing for Slav to do, normally he’d make sure they were stacked, as neatly as possible, in a way that would decrease the chance of Shiro getting a paper-cut, or as Slav once put it, “There’s a thirteen percent chance these papers could fly up from the disarray and slice your eye open!”

Slav was also the reason Shiro hoarded whiskey in the bottom drawer of his desk.

“The phone has been ringing nonstop! There’s a twenty-eight percent chance the world is ending or a forty percent chance of another Black Keys concert. Either way, it’s driving me insane! And this one citizen won’t stop calling!” Slav griped, it was a little amusing considering it was usually Shiro who was always so agitated towards Slav and his..eccentric ways.

“Are all the calls coming from this citizen?” Shiro asked confused as Slav sighed, flinching as the phone from his desk gave another high shrill. “Yes. I keep telling him somebody will be with him when one of our detectives is available, but they’re out blocking off streets, trying to catch that murderer. A small break-in is the least of our concerns right now especially when he said nothing was even stolen!” Slav ranted, startling Shiro a bit.

“Slav how about you take a fifteen minute break okay?” Shiro suggested, noticing the eye twitching right away, hoping maybe a small rest might calm the man down. Slav walked away, muttering about the chances of the vending machine falling on him, crushing him flat as Shiro sighed; directing his gaze to Slav’s desk just outside his office, where the shrill beep from the phone was loudly ringing. Shiro sat down at Slav’s desk, and with a customer service smile plastered on his face, he was all set as he picked up the phone receiver.

“Police department, precinct 94, how can I help you?”

 _“Yeah, you can help me by actually doing something and sending someone to my apartment!”_ Shiro’s smile was quickly wiped away as he sat there confused.

“I’m sorry sir, are you in trouble?” He asked, quickly grabbing a notepad to write anything down when he received a scoff instead.

 _“No, not anymore thanks to you dummies! I keep telling you cops that my apartment’s been broken into! I don’t care if nothing ‘seems to be taken’ or that you guys are running low on detectives to chase that Blue guy or whatever, he could’ve been here waiting to murder me, but you morons dismissed me!”_ Shiro actually felt sweat dampening his forehead, he’s been on the receiving end of some ultimatums, but never ones that made him slightly fear for his life.

“Well sir if I can just have your patience-”

_“My patience? My patience?! That ran out after I was left waiting outside my apartment the first hour! What happened to protect and serve? Is that only for the rich white folk?”_

“Uh, no sir! I do apologize, but-”

_“I want a detective down here in the next thirty minutes or I’m writing a negative Yelp review! I know that’s not how the law works, but I don’t care! Adios!”_

At the sound of the click, Shiro sat there stunned unsure what to do. He’d never been yelled at like that, not even by his own mother. In the end, a small smile grew on his face, the last few words spoken by the man repeating themselves, drawing out a chuckle from Shiro. Especially that Yelp review bit. Standing up, Shiro hung up the phone, dusting off his suit before returning to his office to grab his jacket and hat. “Slav?”

The small man, poked his head out of the break-room, eye no longer twitching as he regarded Shiro with a curious gaze. “Yes?”

“Have I.T. trace that call and get the owner’s address. Someone needs our assistance so I’m going to go pay them a visit.” He stated, using a window as a mirror to fix his hat just right.

“I have it right here! He sent a dozen emails as well as the phone calls.” Slav shoved a piece of paper at Shiro who gave the address a surprised look.

“I know where this is. Thank you Slav, I’ll be back soon.” And with that, Shiro strode out the room, determination in his step. Before he could turn the corner he overheard Slav calling out, “There’s a seventy-two percent chance you could crash your vehicle and die or twenty-three percent chance you’ll be beheaded!”

Shiro walked a bit faster after that, hoping to ditch Slav as well as his crackpot theories.

 

*********

 

When they arrived at some upper class penthouse, Keith noticed they were much closer to the outskirts of downtown where the previous victims were found, and also a short distance from the Queer Pong bar. Keith had taken his motorcycle there, not wanting to listen to Pidge explain in the car why Queer Pong was a funny name for an LGBT oriented bar. He’d rather listen to Shiro go over the history of the city and its start from just some simple Juniberry flower trading, eventually evolving into a huge, beautiful city to this day. Actually Keith would like that, Shiro was super cute when he talked about history and the annual Juniberry Festival had been beautiful in the Spring time where they went on their first date.

And if he could watch a certain dancer do some stretches while they both listened to Shiro’s history ramblings, that would be even better.

Okay he needed to focus!

Keith glanced over all the expensive knickknacks around the living room, scoffing at how combined, they all cost more than his apartment rent when he heard a loud squee from Pidge,

“Oh my god!”

“Pidge what the hell?”

“This guy has the complete game series for all the Nebula BattleStars X-5 with the limited edition cases too! There’s only like ten of these out there!” Pidge geeked out, completely raiding this guy’s TV cabinets now. Keith stood off to the side watching them, unimpressed.

“Nebula Battle-what?”

“Nebula BattleStars X-5. God, get with the times Keith.” Pidge dismissed, ignoring Keith’s perplexed expression.

“I’m trying to!”

“Detectives! Focus!” Allura’s sharp words pierced the air, her annoyance at their unprofessional behavior very clear as she stood to the side of the entrance to the bedroom. With a sigh, Pidge abandoned the games and various consoles, shuffling after Keith as the two entered the bedroom of the crime scene, only to freeze as they stumbled into a massacre.

“Holy shit!”

“What the hell?!”

Allura sighed, apologizing to the lingering forensics team and officers as her detectives promptly scanned over the room, focused solely on the bed area where blood covered the surrounding walls, floors, drenched sheets, and the headboard with the mangled body laying on top of the sheets, limbs cut up and twisted into some unusual position. Keith winced noticing the victim’s left leg had been cut jaggedly, what looks to be the work of a knife, and bent sharply with the ankle twisted around till it was facing the remains of the abdomen, toes pointed towards the head.

“The penthouse belonged to the late Julio Martinez, twenty-eight, died approximately around three am this morning. He was a pretty successful lawyer, didn’t have any family close by and a few distant friends from work. Tiffany, the cleaning lady who found him, stated she came in to do the scheduled cleaning but when she walked in she found the body as it is now and immediately left the penthouse to call the downstairs neighbors for help.” Allura informed them as Pidge crept closer to the body, calculating gaze all over their face as Keith studied the position the body was laying in more closely.

Aside from the left leg, the arms were bent unnaturally above the man’s head, flesh slashed at the elbows with some kind of sharp tool, similar to the slashed leg. Keith made a mental note to check the kitchen to see if any of the knives were possibly missing or cleaned frequently. The torso and head were still intact, just like the last victim. And the final creep factor, the eyeballs were missing, replaced with the same magazine eye cut-outs.

Eyes that were the same shade of bright blue that haunted him. Keith turned away from their gaze, noting how nothing looked to have been taken or touched aside from the bed area. 

“Forensics say he’s been dead since around three a.m. last night. Pidge find out if Julio frequented the Queer Pong like the others and see if he was there last night as well. Keith, I want you to interview the downstairs neighbors, see if they heard anything. This is the fourth victim in two weeks. This killer is out there and there’s no telling when they’ll kill next.” Both of the detectives nodded, even some of the lingering police and forensics nodded, determined to also put a stop to this madman. Allura turned sharply to Keith, who straightened up as she gave him a stern look.

“Keith, we may have a true madman on our hands. We need to be sharp and focused until we catch this bastard. We can’t let anymore innocent people die.” She murmured the last part, not seeing but knowing Keith was nodding along in agreement. They both gave the corpse one last look before forensics draped one of the sheets over him, the blue eyes no longer staring them down.

 

*********

 

Lance was just getting out of the shower, sighing at the cool air that greeted him after having to deal with an awful end to an otherwise good day, when he heard a knock that made him groan in annoyance as he was not in the mood for visitors right now.

The gentle pounding from the door had Lance huffing and puffing as he hurried to the door because of course now was when someone decided to show up when he was wearing nothing but a towel! 

Unless it was another ding-dong-ditch situation, _yet again._

“Coming!” Lance shouts as he secures the towel around his waist for the second time before throwing open the door ready to see no one there like the previous times when he spotted the most beautiful man he’s ever seen right at his doorstep. Or more like second. Lance’s eyes widened at the gentle beaming smile thrown his way, the man was tall, big, and handsome in every single way. In all of Lance's sex dreams, this man was the hunky, Fabio-like, god who starred in them with promises to carry him away to bask in sensual pleasure. Lance was practically drooling while the officer, or rather higher up considering the more elegant uniform he was wearing, held out his hand in greeting.

“Evening sir, I’m Captain Shirogane of the 94th precinct. Sorry to disturb you tonight but I got your phone call about an intruder and with all my detectives running around on cases, I was the only one who could come at your request.” He stated apologetically, giving Lance a small smile that had Lance flushing.

‘Oh no need to be sorry sir, this is like fulfilling every single sexy cop fantasy I’ve ever had’, Lance thought, slyly checking the man out in the pressed jacket and pants. He realized the captain was still waiting for an answer, to which he shook his head giving the officer a bright smile.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t think anyone would come to be honest. I know how busy you cops always are, especially now with that ‘blue’ maniac on the loose. I left a message just hoping I’d hear back from someone either tomorrow or later during the week.” Lance confessed as he stepped to the side, allowing the captain to come in.

Shiro’s eyes scanned the apartment, it was a tiny studio but without the cramped feeling most studios had. It was also very well decorated and felt lived in, the complete opposite of Keith’s apartment which brought a chuckle from Shiro.

“Really? From the message I received, you threatened to write a negative review of us on Yelp if someone didn’t come within the next thirty minutes. So naturally with our precinct’s status at stake, I came as soon as I could.” Shiro teased watching amusedly as Lance blushed from embarrassment.

“Well..you came so that threat is no longer valid.” Lance felt himself burning as the officer gave him a knowing smile.

“Should we get started? I can wait for you to get dressed if you like.” Lance frowned confused until Shiro gestured towards his current attire, the slightly damp towel he still had wrapped around his waist and..nothing else.

“Oh shit! I forgot! Sorry! I’ll be right back uh, Captain..”

“Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro if you’d like.”

“I’ll be right back Captain Shiro!” Lance dashed off to the bathroom, thankfully he had a change of clothes in there as Shiro waited, taking another look around the apartment.

It seemed Lance had only lived here for a little less than a year, but the space felt more homey and like it was lived in for years. With a quick glance around, Shiro noted the picture frames of people lining the walls and every flat surface as well as the flatscreen TV and impressive gaming console still set up. There was even a pricey laptop still sitting on the fluffy bedspread. Shiro frowned to himself, filing that information to himself. If this was a break-in, how come nothing had been touched? If the expensive gadgets and tech were still here, then what did the perp take?

“Sorry about that! I was waiting a while for someone to show up and when no one did, I thought I’d just get my shower out of the way.” Lance explained walking in wearing a tank top and what looked like yoga pants, the material stretching to show off his long legs. Shiro had to force himself to quit staring. When he answered the phone call, the last person he was expecting to meet was this incredibly good looking man, with glowing tan skin, long legs, and wearing nothing but a towel. 

“And I apologize for that. I remember you said the break-in happened early in the afternoon? Can you tell me what happened and was anything taken?” Shiro asked, getting out a small pocket notebook to take down notes as Lance gestured to the small love-seat for them to sit on.

“Well I started my day like normal, I got up to get ready for work because we have rehearsals early in the mornings and I have to stretch before then.” At Shiro’s weird look, Lance quickly explained himself.

“I’m a dancer! I promise it’s nothing sexual or illegal! I work for the Altea Dance Productions.” Lance explained as Shiro nodded, flushing just a bit at his earlier implications.

“Oh, what type of dancing if I may ask?”

“Ballet.” Shiro whistled impressed as Lance chuckled.

“You must’ve been dancing for many years then.”

“Oh yeah, I started dancing when I was four. I’ve been a professional ballet dancer for five years now.” Lance smiled as Shiro once again gave him an impressed look.

“What got you interested in ballet dancing? I’ll admit I rarely ever meet a male ballet dancer.” Shiro admitted a bit sheepish as Lance waved him off.

“Not many people really seek us out or assume we don’t have jobs but uh, can I ask, are these questions for the investigation?” Lance asked unsure as Shiro straightened up, realizing he was wasting time asking these questions and not ones related to the case.

“Nope, sorry got very distracted there, which is very unprofessional of me and I do apologize.” Shiro gave him a very apologetic look which, how can anyone reject those piercing eyes?

“It’s alright! Happens with me around all the time. I’m very distracting you know.” Lance winked earning a blush from the officer.

“Ahem. Well back to the break-in, when did you notice that someone had broken in?” Shiro asked, frowning as Lance thought back on the day.

“I was coming back from work, at the dance production company. I was heading up the stairs when I noticed my door was open and I know I locked it this morning.”

“Was anything taken?”

“That’s the really weird part! Nothing had been taken! All my electronics were still here, my expensive hair and skin care products were still in the bathroom. I don’t know if maybe the burglar realized I was coming, got scared and just booked it.” Lance shivered a bit, the idea of some stranger breaking in with him only a few feet away creeped him out a bit. Shiro frowned, pondering what the person could’ve taken unless whoever had done it was actually trying to scare Lance.

“Do you have any enemies? Anyone currently mad at you that they may just be trying to scare you?” Shiro asked as Lance shook his head.

“No, not that I know of..but if I find out something, I’ll call you again!” Lance stated as Shiro nodded.

“Alright, well I got your statement and reviewed the damage to the doorknob, I’ll send a locksmith up here and let your landlord know. With that butcher on the loose, it’s not very safe for a single man such as yourself to be on your own without some kind of protection.”

“To be fair, as a single man I do carry protection, its just not that kind of protection you’re thinking of.” Lance winked as Shiro chuckled at the implication. 

“Well that’s a relief in some way. Take care, oh! Here’s my personal information if you find out something later, that way you don’t have to call the precinct and be put on hold again.” Shiro took out a small business card that had his title and name with his phone number and email on it as he handed it to Lance who gave it a quick look over. 

“Thanks Captain! I admit, I do feel alot safer now that I’ve spoken to somebody about this. Aside from a few friends in the area, I have no family or anyone else to turn to for things like this.” Lance admitted, scratching an imaginary itch on the back of his neck as Shiro gave him a gentle smile.

“I’ll be around, so count yourself a new friend if you ever need one. If it also helps, I know another detective who lives in the building across the courtyard from you. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s got very good instincts. If you’re ever in trouble, he can help you. He’s in apartment 6B.” Lance felt himself grinning by the end of Shiro’s speech, with a quick thank you, he let the captain out of his apartment, trying not to stare at the officer’s backside in the process and failing completely. That ass in those slacks, hot damn! As the officer turned down the stairs only then did Lance close his door, leaning against it and sighed satisfied.

Two attractive cops in one day? How lucky could a man get?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two new characters enter the game!!!!

Lance quickly regretted calling himself lucky the other day when he woke up late one morning, having slept through his alarm clock which meant only one thing; he was late for class.

“Shit!” Lance leapt out of bed, banging his pinky toe in the process of rushing around his apartment, getting ready.

“Dammit, I needed to be on the bus like ten minutes ago!” Lance whined as he brushed his teeth furiously, almost missing the sink when he spat the foam out before shoving his legs through a dance belt followed by his practice tights and a tightly fitted tank top. After he threw on some boots, a baggy sweater, and a beanie over his unruly locks, he grabbed his dance bag with his dance shoes and supplies as well as his keys, before hurrying to the door.

As he grabbed the doorknob, ready to fling himself into the next dimension, he yelped as he slipped on something that caught under his foot, sending him nearly to his knees. Pausing, Lance glanced down to glare at whatever had nearly killed him only to gaze blankly at the envelope sitting neatly on the floor, like it had been placed there delicately.

‘What the fuck?’ Lance squinted, noticing how there was no return address or even a stamp on it. ‘Somebody slipped this under my door then,’ he paused a bit creeped out that someone had been here without his knowledge but one ding from the alarm on his phone had Lance back in full panic mode. He lunged out the door, shoving the letter into his bag as he raced down the steps, the mysterious letter far from his mind.

 

                                                                                          ***********

 

“So the neighbors didn’t hear anything?” Shiro asked frowning as he and Keith stood in line at the Balmera Brewery. It was a typical morning, the sun was shining high already, so there wasn’t as much foot traffic in the streets thankfully. Keith had never been fond of being around people while Shiro didn’t like crowds. Keith shook his head, fingers clasped tightly with Shiro’s as they stood beside the other, eyes scanning over the coffee selection even though he ordered the same thing every time. 

“No..its frustrating, the only murders I’ve dealt with were homicides involving drug deals or gang killings. Catching a serial killer is a whole other level.” Keith groaned annoyed. Shiro made a pity sound, drawing the other closer towards him, leaving a quick peck on his cheek hoping that at least gave him some comfort.

“I’d be happy to offer my assistance with the case if you need any. Two heads are better than one.” Shiro offered as Keith snorted.

“Is that offer for work or the bedroom?” Keith asked, enjoying the flush appear on Shiro’s face and the swift jab to the side. Before Shiro could make any retort, the door swung open and there was a brief “Excuse me!” until Keith felt a large lump crash into him, causing both men to fall to the floor in a heap. Sitting up, Keith groaned in pain as he glanced up recognizing the long legs covered in tights before even seeing the familiar face, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You again!” Lance pointed at Keith with an accusing finger, which only made the slight headache worse. Keith glared back at him as Shiro knelt down beside him, putting his hands under Keith’s arms to help him up. “You okay?” he asked concerned which drew Lance’s attention, whose face lit up in recognition as he pointed at Shiro now, his mouth gaping like a fish’s. “And you again!”

Shiro gave him a weak smile and a small wave before giving Lance a hand too since he was still sitting on the floor. Lance took his offered hand gratefully, amazed at the sheer strength in Shiro’s grip alone as Lance was hoisted to his feet with ease.

“Thanks.” Lance smiled at him, Shiro giving him one in return.

“You’re welcome.”

“Lance!” The three men turned towards the counter where a large male with dark hair held back by a headband was shaking his head, eyes focused on Lance.

“What have I told you about bursting in here like that man, you’re gonna hurt someone or yourself.” He scolded. It was his best friend Hunk, owner and baker of the Balmera Brewery as well as overall best human being. Before Lance could offer a smooth retort about his great reflexes, Keith stood in front of him, face growing red as he poked Lance in the chest accusingly.

“Yeah! Why were you running? Again?!” Keith yelled, giving Lance his best: ‘I have zero-tolerance-for-this-bullshit’ face. “Seriously, do I have some kind of target for sweaty dancers to run into me?” Lance immediately puffed up, which looked incredibly cute but that didn’t matter, as he scowled back at Keith.

“I’m not sweaty! And I thought we already established I wasn’t running last time?”

“Well why were you running this time?”

“Because I’m late! And you’re questioning mullet ass is making me more late!”

“It’s not a mullet!”

“Okay, time to calm down a bit. Seriously, people are staring.” Shiro intervened, stepping in between the two, a hand settling on both of their shoulders. Lance glanced at Shiro, eyes scanning over the uniform real quick as an idea popped into his head.

“Captain, I want him arrested for attempted murder!” Both Shiro and Keith gazed at Lance, shocked while Hunk just shook his head muttering, “Oh boy.” Keith quickly stepped forward, obviously ticked off.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“No I’m not kidding. What did I tell you last time? These sexy gams of mine are my livelihood! Any threat to my livelihood will not go unpunished!” Lance showed off his legs once again, completely missing the ogling looks from both cops as well as a few onlookers who had seen the whole debacle and were still watching the scene unfold like a soap opera. Shiro noticed the attention and coughed, drawing both of the men’s attentions away from each other as he attempted to mediate the situation.

“You two need to calm down…So let’s just get our caffeine and go. Lance, you said you were late?”Shiro asked. Lance stared at him blankly until the lightbulb in his brain reminded him that he was late to practice and that had him almost flailing around in a panic once again.

“Oh yeah! Hunk! I need my usual to-go stat!” He yelled, practically hanging off the counter edge with an unamused Hunk standing there arms folded.

“Dude I’m right here, there's no need to shout. Also if you’re late to class, maybe you shouldn’t be stopping for coffee?” He reminded gently as Lance just waved him off, “If I’m showing up late to class fifteen minutes late, I need to have a coffee in hand for the full tardy meme experience.” He stated knowingly as Hunk rolled his eyes before turning to get started on the drinks. Grinning, Lance turned back to the two officers, studying them as an idea kept bugging him while the two men stood there unsure what Lance was doing.

“Wait, you’re the detective Shiro spoke of!” Lance pointed as Keith rolled his eyes while Shiro held back a laugh. “Yes Lance, this is Keith Kogane. Detective over at Precinct 95.” Shiro stated proudly as Keith rolled his eyes.

“Yeah we met already actually.” Lance smiled as he gave Keith a look over, not missing the fact he was once again wearing dark jeans and a dark t-shirt that looked dangerously sexy paired with the leather jacket and boots.

“Detective Moody here and I had an unfortunate clash the other day, it was actually the same day I met you Shir-uh, Captain.” Lance corrected, not sure whether he should address Shiro by his nickname around Keith when Shiro gave him a simple smile. “Shiro’s fine, Lance.” Keith glanced at the two, curious.

“So how did you two meet?” He asked a bit overwhelmed at all..this. It was either a good sign his crush was meeting face to face with the man he was currently dating, or a bad one…He really hoped it was a good sign. Shiro gestured towards Lance, a small smile on his face as he explained, “Lance and I met when his apartment got broken into the other night, I’m guessing you two ran into each other?” Shiro asked amused as Lance nodded.

“Yep! Like a couple of cartoon characters in some TV gag trope. I had an iced coffee with me, spilled everywhere, completely drenched me in it, the whole shebang.” Lance admitted adding to Shiro’s amusement as Keith rolled his eyes.

“Maybe you should be paying closer attention to who’s around you doofus. Also what’s this about your apartment being broken into?” He asked curious and a small part of him worried but he just wrote it off as genuine interest in another resident’s well being. You know, for community safety and all that. Lance pouted, which almost had Shiro and Keith drop to the ground with how adorable he looked.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be in other people’s way! Also, it’s none of your business!”

“It’s my job to be in other peoples way! Especially in their business!” Keith complained as Lance scoffed about to comment when he realized not only was Hunk standing there holding out black coffee, his to-go staple every morning, he was also pointing at the clock as well.

"Lance go to class already!" Hunk reminded him again. This was no time to be flirting with two handsome cops. 

“Thanks Hunk, you know I owe you one!” Lance yelled, grabbing his drink and about to leave when Shiro embraced his elbow, making him pause.

“Lance if you like, we could give you a ride?” He offered smiling as Lance’s eyes widened in awe. He swore there were sparkles dancing around the cop’s face, casting him in a golden, halo-ish light.

“That would be great actually! I’m already super late. I could use the wheels so lets go!” Lance cheered, about to leave but was held back once again by Keith this time.

“Hold up genius, we still need our coffee and to pay.” He reminded him. Lance was about to comment, but was stopped as Hunk handed two more coffees over to the officers, waving Shiro away as he reached for his wallet.

“On the house. Lance told me what happened with his apartment and anyone who helps my best bud gets a free coffee.” Hunk smiled, handing the two stunned cops their respective orders, giving Hunk appreciative nods.

"Well thank you." Shiro thanked him as Keith took a giant gulp of his. Lance stood there fidgeting a bit, waiting for them to be done before he happily linked arms with each cop and dragged them away from the counter.

“Thanks for the coffee Hunk!” Lance started, backing out of the store, the two officers in tow as they quickly made their farewells as they exited the store. In his hasty retreat, he almost tripped over his own feet but was held back by two strong arms before he face-planted into the road as a car drove by at the same time. Lance took a second to catch his breath as the car drove away, his body frozen in shock after what almost happened. The other two men were hovering around him, Shiro holding Lance in his arms as Keith glanced for any bruises. It may have been a bit protective but they were both slightly freaked out that they almost watched Lance get run over.

“Lance!”

“Are you okay?” Keith and Shiro both looked him over, eyes trying hard not to linger around his backside where the sweater was bunched up just above his ass. Lance shook his head, trying to get his emotions in control as he faced the two men, smile brightening his face instantly.

“I’m pretty fucking lucky is what I am! You guys just saved my life! And my coffee! You’re my heros!” Lance practically threw himself at Shiro who was closest, missing Keith’s smirk as Shiro blushed from the hug.

“Lance seriously, are you okay?” Keith asked, looking for any sign of discomfort or pain but Lance just shrugged him off. “Nah I’m good! I was always a bit clumsy as a kid, never grew out of it I guess.” Before either of them could point out Lance’s career as a graceful ballet dancer, Lance took off across the empty street to a parked police car, that he assumed belonged to Shiro. 

‘Clumsy my ass. Even when he walks hes like a gazelle,’ Keith noted, eyeing the lithe frame and small waist that flowed into wide shoulders. Sure enough, it was Shiro’s car, the three quickly piled in with Lance shouting “Shotgun!” much to Keith’s displeasure.

They drove down the street riding along in silence at first until Shiro broke the awkward atmosphere asking Lance if he was starring in any upcoming performances which Lance brightened instantly.

“Yes actually, I’m the main lead in the upcoming Spring production of _Ocean’s Kingdom._ Do you to know the story?” Lance asked, receiving head shakes for no. So Lance launched into the beautiful tale of an ocean princess, prince in his case, who lives with his father in an underwater kingdom whose peaceful life is interrupted by intruders from the earth kingdom and falls in love with the prince of the earth kingdom. As he finished explaining the tale, even stating how the music was written by Paul McCartney, the two officers looked more perplexed than awed by his amazing storytelling.

“Sounds like some copy cat version of Romeo and Juliet.” Keith noted, not paying attention to the warning looks Shiro was giving him.

“What?” Lance demanded earning a shrug in response. ‘Pfft, amateurs. Don’t appreciate good storytelling even if they were in one,’ Lance thought, scoffing. Another idea popped into his head which had him turning around in his seat to face Keith, eyeing him up and down with a quizzical glance.

“So what happened to your speedy bike Mr. Hotshot? I saw you take off on that thing the other day, where is it now?” Lance questioned a little amused at seeing the blush bloom on his cheeks.

“It’s at my precinct.” Was all the answer he gave as lance stared at him, unable to comprehend such an idea.

“So you just left it there? How did you get home then?”

“Shiro picked me up.”

“Picked you up? Why? Is something wrong with your bike?”

“No. And stop calling it a bike.”

“Shut up, its a motorbike. So you make Shiro chauffeur you around simply because you didn’t want to drive?” Lance gasped, playing the act up a bit seeing how easily annoyed Keith was getting.

“No he wanted to drive me. Just like he wanted to drive both of us right now.” Keith answered as Lance seemed to ponder his responses.

“But who would skip sleeping in just to drive someone to work?”

“Shiro doesn’t sleep in. He’s an early riser.” Keith pointed out as Lance gave him a confused look.

“How would you know..wait.” Keith waited and watched as a lightbulb went off in that empty storage unit for a brain Lance had as he finally pieced two and two together, glancing back and forth at Keith’s unamused face to Shiro’s embarrassed flush.

“So you two are-”

“Yes. Got a problem with it?” Keith challenged as he leaned forward menacingly as Shiro gave him a warning look. Lance merely blinked back at him, until a slow smirk appeared on his face.

“I’d be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I suddenly had a problem with two gay cops.” Lance stated as Shiro regarded him with caution.

“So..you’re also?” He hedged as Lance nodded, sitting proudly in the passenger seat.

“Yep! Bi and proud actually! Even though I used to get teased about being gay back when I was alot younger and just starting dance.” Lance tsked, remembering those dreadful middle school days being teased for being a boy who liked doing ballet and wearing tights. Teenagers were such assholes sometimes.

“I think its admirable you dedicate yourself to such an art.” Shiro stated, giving Lance his best encouraging smile as he drove through the streets. Keith nodded, eyes scanning the neighborhood as it flashed by the windows.

“Thanks! You guys are pretty cool for cops. Hey! You two should come hang out with me and some of the other queer dancers this Friday! Because we have strict diets, we can’t consume alcohol that much, so once a month some of us from the dance company meet up at the Queer Pong, get drinks and hang out, amongst other things.” Lance winked nearly laughing at the exasperated look Keith gave him. What he didn’t notice was Shiro and Keith’s bodies stiffening at the mention of the bar. Shiro gave Keith a quick look through the rearview mirror which Keith nodded to.

“Uh, Lance? Maybe you should put off going to the Queer Pong for a while.” Keith suggested, flinching as Lance turned around to gape at him.

“What? Did you not listen to a word I said? Once a month Keith!” Lance demanded, as Shiro cleared his throat to get their attentions.

“I think he’s right Lance. The Queer Pong isn’t the best place to hang around right now.” He mentioned, having heard everything about the case from Keith he hoped Lance would listen to reason, but apparently she wasn’t here right now as Lance continued to shake his head.

“Don’t tell me you guys are like those paranoid cops on the news who shoot innocent people all the time.” Lance complained as Shiro and Keith jumped to defensive.

“Absolutely not-”

“Those guys are disgusting pigs!”

“Keith!” Lance smiled, laughing it off as the two began ranting about the idiocy of some of the cops they hear about on television. Finally, after an interesting car ride, they pulled up in front of the huge building belonging to Altean Dance Productions, as Lance eagerly turned to thank the officers.

“Shiro! Would you be willing to escort me inside like I was a criminal? I wanna play a joke on my coworkers.” Keith snorted as Shiro chuckled amused.

“Hmm..tempting.”

“Lance go to class already.” Keith ordered, rolling his eyes in fondness at the scoff of disbelief tossed his way. “I try so hard to make this world a bit less dreary and this is the thanks I get?” He draped an arm over his face as he leaned back against the car, ignoring Keith’s groan and Shiro’s snickering.

“Geez if you weren’t a dancer, you could make it as an actor.” Keith informed him, but leaned away confused as Lance faced him with a cheeky grin.

“Probably. I’m also a part-time model, that requires a bit of acting.” Lance winked at the two men, grabbing his bag and coffee before jogging inside the building at last while Keith and Shiro stared after him.

“Are you staring at his ass too?”

“Jesus, Keith.”

 

                                                                                           ***********

 

Thank god for miracles.

That was Lance’s only thought as he tiptoed into the dance studio dressed for class, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw the other dancers just lounging around, some doing a little stretching, and best of all, no sign of their instructor. Lance walked in unabashedly now, getting ready to work on a few stretches of his own when one of the dancers, his friend Nyma, stopped him.

“Hey Lance, I have a question for you.” She smiled, her glittering eyes sparkling with mischief like always. She was one of the older dancers here, loved to gossip, and made it absolutely clear that she had seniority status above some of the other dancers. She was one of the few dancers who ‘tolerated’ Lance getting the main role…

“Uh, sure.” Lance stated, offering a friendly smile as he walked over to her little group.

“Are the rumors true?” She asked, cocking her head to he side, studying him as Lance gave her a baffled look.

“Rumors?”

“That you’re sleeping with the patron who gave you the starring role?” Lance jumped back, completely startled by such a question, earning him a few snickers from the eavesdropping dancers.

“Wha-no, its not true! It’s absolutely not true!” Lance clearly stated over and over to make sure everyone heard it.

“So you’re not sleeping with him?” Nyma asked, clearly surprised by the truth in his voice as Lance gave her a helpless look.

“I don’t even know who ‘he’ is! Look, this may be difficult for some of you to comprehend but I worked hard to get where I am, that’s always been my philosophy for life. It was sudden and surprising that I got a lead role, but only because this guy wanted me to play the part and he would pull his sponsorship if I didn’t!” Lance insisted earning a few begrudgingly accepted looks his way. One of the older male dancers, David, approached. His back was straight and nose pointed high as he looked Lance up and down with scrutiny.

“In that case, you better train harder because if you fuck this up, he could pull his sponsorship no matter what.” He threatened before going back to where his two friends were standing as Lance noticeably deflated at his harsh words. Nyma glanced over Lance, furrowing her brows and putting on a small smile before coming over and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey lets do some coccyx balance stretches together alright? Fuck David, he’s just mad because he can’t get his legs that high over his head like you can.” Lance beamed at that, feeling his pride in himself restored once more, she pulled him down to sit next to her as the two began helping each other stretch.

“Lance, I’m sure you’ll do great.” Nyma encouraged, giving him a small smile which brought a similar one to Lance’s face.

“Thanks Nyma.”

“You’re so talented!”

“Awww, so are you!”

“And your skin looks great too! What do you use?”

“Okay now I’m scared, what do you want?”

“I saw you getting out of that squad car earlier, are you fucking a cop?”

“Jesus Nyma!”

“Ahem.” A strict cough had all the dancers pausing and looking to the front where their instructor was standing impatiently tapping his toes.

“If we’re all done gossiping, let’s begin our first moves.” He clapped and everyone immediately lined up, ready to start todays drills.

It was about an hour later, Lance was gently easing himself out of an arabesque, with the helpful coaxing of the instructor, there was sudden commotion by the door that had everyone pausing on what they were doing to face Terry the director standing next to some man Lance had never seen before.

“Uh everyone, I’d like you all to say hello to one of our gracious patrons, Lotor Daibazaal. He will be watching part of practice today, so just pretend he’s an audience member and hopefully that will shape some of you up for performance season.” Terry stated a few dancers laughing at his joke. He and Lotor sat down in the offered chairs as Lance, curious about the newcomer, studied Lotor from afar. He had long pale, blonde hair, lighter than Nyma’s, and an angular face with a sharp jaw. He was wearing an expensive looking suit, one that Lance could tell had never been worn more than twice in its life. During his not-so-subtle inspection, he realized the man’s eyes were now studying him with just as much intensity. Lotor smirked making Lance gulp before quickly turning back to work on the moves the instructor was now barking at him, feeling as if Lotor’s gaze was on him the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally all meet! It can only go good from here!! or can it????? *Dramatic music*


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My power is back on so have a chapter! Creepy things soon to come!

“So..what’s this about a break-in?” Keith glanced over at Shiro, now sitting in the passengers seat as Shiro tensed at the wheel a bit, keeping his sharp gaze on the busy road as they dealt with traffic.

“Honestly, its not my place to tell,” Shiro started as Keith scoffed.

“Shiro we talk about work all the time, nothing phases me anymore. Besides, as a concerned resident who also lives in the same building, I have a right to know whether there was a robbery at the apartments…For community safety reasons.” Keith argued as Shiro snorted. 

“Are you a concerned resident, or is this about the attractive dancer with great legs?” Shiro asked, giving Keith a questioning gaze as the other sweated on the spot.

“Well I uh-” Keith fidgeted not sure what to say until Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him an easy smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Keith its okay. I know this is still new between us, but if you wanted to date other people too, I won’t hold you back.” Shiro stated, sounding a bit hesitant and a little forlorn too as Keith shook his head.

“What, no! Shiro I don’t want to date him! Maybe, I don’t know, he’s attractive but I don’t want to stop dating you! I-I really like you.” Keith blushed, embarrassed he had to even say that out loud as Shiro gave him a small smile.

“I really like you too Keith. If it’s worth anything, Lance is quite the catch if you do decide you want to spend some time with him.” Shiro admitted as Keith gave him a curious look.

“Why are you so supportive of me dating Lance? What happened between you two? Did he also run into you and spill coffee all over himself? I’m starting to think thats just how he meets people.” Keith muttered as Shiro shook his head.

“I just..think he’s a nice person. Seems like he’d be fun to be around. His looks are a bonus too.” Shiro noted as Keith stared him down.

“Then you should date him.” At Shiro’s sputtering, Keith continued on, “I mean, you two would make a cute couple, why don’t you ask him out? Maybe he’ll wear those tights on the date if you’re lucky.”Keith teased as Shiro shrugged, trying to focus on driving and not the gorgeous image that would be.

“Honestly I’ve seen him in less, and whats underneath the tights is just as exciting.” He promised, a small smile creeping on his face as Keith wigged out like he expected.

“What? Why, when?” Keith asked, his brain trying and failing to come up with a reasonable explanation for how Shiro could have seen way more than him, the neighbor who already sees too much just glancing through Lance’s window!

“You know how he wears those tights, shows off everything?” Shiro asked with Keith nodding. His mind was going back to that nice little perky butt covered in opaque fabric that left nothing to the imagination almost..man he could almost picture grabbing it and squeezing-

“Well I got to see him in nothing but a towel.” Shiro bragged, almost laughing as Keith smacked his arm out of retaliation.

“When?” Keith demanded but frowned as Shiro hesitated.

“Okay fine, but you can’t tell him I told you. Some part of me thinks he won’t like that.” At Keith’s nod, Shiro began to recall that night he met Lance. “Well his apartment had been broken into. He called my station several times because there weren’t any available detectives at the time, because that’s when the body of Julio Martinez had been found, so I paid him a visit to see what was going on. He had been taking a shower at the time, so he answered the door wearing nothing but a towel.” He explained. Keith frowned, wondering how Lance was so cheerful and goofy right now, when he was probably beside himself coming home to see his apartment broken into. He felt an odd tightening in his chest at the idea of Lance unknowingly walking into danger, the perp just behind the other side with a knife and a wicked gleam in their eyes, had Keith clenching his grip when Shiro spoke again,

 “He wasn’t home at the time it happened thankfully, but the weirdest thing though is that nothing was taken. Not the laptop, the expensive game console. Nothing was out of place, according to Lance. Because nothing was stolen however, the case was immediately closed. I gave the report to the landlord and he installed a new lock, but that was it as far as I know, but that’s how I met Lance.” Keith sat there frowning, confused as to why someone would break-in then not take anything. 

“Maybe the robber was scared off and left?” Keith asked as Shiro shrugged.

“It’s very weird for a robber to suddenly back out of an attempted robbery, unless someone was coming and they had to leave, but why not hide in the apartment then? So that’s ruled out. I don’t see any other motive for ditching unless it was just some freak accident or someone just trying to scare Lance.”

“Does he have any enemies?” Shiro shook his head.

“He said he didn’t know anyone well enough to make enemies, but you and I both know it takes only a little push for someone to act out on their hate and become an enemy just like that.” Keith nodded, feeling himself becoming deeply interested in the case, despite the fact it was already closed and he should move on…

But for the sake of a handsome dancer with toned legs, he would most likely take a peek at the case again despite all the energy he should be saving towards solving the Butcher case. Unsolved cases were like bathroom crosswords to Keith. Only he didn't do them on the toilet. 

“With his luck, he probably ran into someone and spilled coffee all over them.” Keith muttered as Shiro let out an amused chuckle at that. “Hopefully nothing else weird happens, but if it does, it would fall under your precinct. Plus, Allura wants me mostly focused on this butcher person, whoever they are.” Keith gave Shiro a pointed look which had Shiro hardening his expression once more.

“Right. If you need my help Keith, don’t hesitate to call, I think I’m going to look into Lance’s case again when I have the time. I suspect something else is going on with that break-in.” Shiro admitted as Keith smiled, glad he and Shiro had similar suspicions on the matter. It was those similar instincts they shared that had attracted Keith in the beginning, only now they apparently had similar tastes in men. Soon they pulled up in front of the precinct as Keith sighed, eyeing the gray building with his mind flashing with the gory crime scenes and now mysterious, shadowy phantoms breaking into dancer’s apartments.

“Let’s hope it’s nothing but a break-in.” Keith stated as he kissed Shiro good-bye before sliding out of the passenger seat. Before he shut the door, Keith leaned in and gave Shiro a smirk;

“You know Shiro, if you decide you want to date Lance I understand completely. Who knows, maybe he’d be into both of us? We could always ask him. Anyways, see ya later.” Keith winked, leaving a flustered Shiro as he escaped inside.

 

********* 

Class stretched on the rest of the morning till early afternoon with Lance soon forgetting the eyes following every step and motion he made. It was around the last twenty minutes of practice, a time they usually dedicate to practicing leaps and jumps(to work on flexibility, balance, and strength) when an unfortunate accident happened.

It was probably the best part of the day in Lance’s opinion. Just leaping and bounding across the dance floor with no worries, feeling like he was weightless, floating in the air for a brief second was everything. It almost felt like he was flying, bringing back his early memories from childhood when he considered being an astronaut..and also a part-time cowboy. With no outside influences bothering him, Lance could pretend he was up there, in the sky soaring, not a care in the world until he came back down to earth pretty quick.

Lance had just been practicing a double saut de basque, when he was doing a chasse coupes step into the leap he locked eyes with Lotor, who seemed to be staring intensely again. Almost as if his eyes had never left Lance’s form. Lance felt time had frozen, including his bones as a chill crept over them; he was so caught up in that gaze, he shivered when Lotor smiled, but he was brought back down to reality quickly when on the way down from his jump, his foot hit the floor at an odd angle, a sharp quick pain flaring throughout his whole foot, spreading up his leg.

“Aaugh!!” Lance cried out, crumbling to the floor as he gripped his foot. Several other dancers skirted around him, flocking nearby as the instructor and director rushed over, checking to make sure he was okay. Lance cursed himself as he allowed the instructor to look over the limb as he pondered why he allowed himself to lose focus like that.

“Can you move it?” His instructor asked, Lance tested it out, hissing a little at the pain but sighing in relief as he found he could move it. Definitely nothing serious like a broken ankle, but Lance worried that he may have sprained it, which would have him sitting out of practice for two weeks at least.

“Honestly it seems like a minor ankle sprain from the looks of it. Let’s get you down to the on-site nurse.” The director spoke as Lance nodded. He was helped up by two classmates, doing everything he can to keep the weight off his ankle, feeling incredibly embarrassed enough as it is when a tall figure lurking nearby suddenly approached.

“If I may be able to provide some assistance, I can take him down to the infirmary.” A smooth, silky, British accented voice spoke, distracting Lance a bit as he glanced up to be face to face with Lotor. Lance gulped.

“I’m sure that’s not nece-”

“Oh splendid! You’re so kind Sir! Everyone back to your places, class isn’t over yet!” Lance felt like crumbling to the floor all over again and praying some cosmic deity would end his existence right there as Lotor wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping a firm grip as Lance hobbled forward, keeping his injured foot off the ground. Neither spoke, not until after they had made it to the nurse’s office and Lance was sitting on the small bed, foot propped up on a pillow when Lotor finally opened his mouth.

“I’m terribly sorry, I truly didn’t mean for our first meeting to go like this.” Lance glanced up into the apologetic eyes as the taller man leaned against the wall.

“It’s okay, I just made a complete ass of myself is all and ruined my chances of being the main lead for our Spring production.” Lance sighed, kinda wishing he was alone to wallow in his self pity-party when Lotor gave him a look of surprise.

“How is that? From what I know and understand, the director should know better than to ignore the requests of a very generous patron and his wishes.” Lotor replied as Lance gazed at him curiously.

“I guess? If the patron has that much power, probably. Anyways, I’m sure once they tell the patron of this fuck-up he’ll no longer be interested in me being the lead.” Lance sighed, flopping back onto the weird tissue paper thats always laid out on the little beds in most nurse offices as Lotor hummed.

“I highly doubt it.” He stated flatly as Lance scoffed. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m the patron who requested you.” Lance shot up straight, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as Lotor gave him a cool smile.

 “Wait..you..but huh?” Lance asked, all his thoughts and emotions swirling in his head as Lotor chuckled, stretching a hand out to shake.

“Let’s start over. My name is Lotor, a patron of this fine company, and technically your patron now too.” He smiled as Lance limply shook his hand, still too dazed from the moment.

“I, well, t-thank you sir. For patronizing me, wait no, that’s not what I meant!” Lance shook his head as Lotor tilted his head back as a delighted laugh broke out.

“Oh you are amusing dear Lance, just as I thought you would be.” At Lance’s confused expression Lotor sighed, sitting down beside him on the bed as he placed his hands in his pockets.

“I noticed your dance work when I first became a patron here a couple months ago. I’m the heir to my father’s business empire and I noticed we don’t nearly give as much as we should to the arts community, so I became a fellow arts patron to this ballet company in hopes of remedying that.” Lance allowed the words to sink in, finding himself awed by the man’s charity.

“Well, that’s cool and very generous of you.” He stated, feeling a bit intimidated by such a powerful man. David’s earlier words of not fucking shit up, floated back to his conscious which had him fidgeting with the tissue paper.

“I promise to do my best and live up to your expectations Mr. Daibazzal.” He pledged, holding out his hand for a handshake and nearly shrieking in surprise as Lotor took it and kissed the back of it.

“Please, call me Lotor. You have such a beautiful spirit, as I noticed when I saw your performance in _Night and Day_ and in _The Rite of Spring._ You have a talent Lance, and I intend to showcase it as often as possible.” Lotor spoke, a passionate air to his words that drew Lance in, he paid no attention to that little voice in his head that asked how Lotor could have known it was Lance in any of those performances…

 “Lance, I was wondering, if it were possible that is, if you would accompany me to lunch?” Lotor offered as Lance eyed him curiously. On one hand, he mostly just wanted to wallow at home with his injury, but on the other hand, the director’s words of keeping his patron happy and interested had Lance ultimately agreeing to the luncheon.

“Sure, as long as we’re not out too much though.” Lance bargained earning a beaming smile in return.

“Splendid! I know a nice little spot in the city, and its not too far of a drive.” Lotor promised, with Lance nodding, feeling his eagerness grow just a bit. The nurse finally came back with the paperwork that seemed to take her forever to get. She looked over Lance’s ankle, noting that it wasn’t a complete sprain so he would only need at least two days of rest and to stay off his ankle altogether. Lance sighed, not happy with this news but accepted the recommended painkillers as well as a pair of crutches with dignity as the nurse got set to wrapping his ankle.

Once he was all set, Lance hobbled on his crutches down the hallway with Lotor, whose grip on his waist was a little too tight having him wonder if this outing was really such a good idea.

 

                                                                                             ********* 

Keith took a long drag on his cigarette before putting it out as he leaned against the side of the building bearing the words ‘Queer Pong’ in bright neon letters. He had just finished questioning Julio’s downstairs neighbors again, in hopes they might have remembered something else from that night. Of course our killer hadn’t made any noise or left a single trace of himself while he was busy with his little hobby. The couple also didn’t interact with Julio all that much, stating the man was mostly either at work, out of the apartment, and often took very long trips where he would be gone for weeks. Hell, the couple didn’t even know Julio was back from the last trip he took about a month ago. So that was a huge bust. 

Keith sighed, snuffing the cigarette butt out before he walked inside the muted bar. He glanced around the establishment, the lack of neon laser lights and the day light pouring in from the windows gave the room a completely different atmosphere. There were a few customers lingering around for a casual drink with a few friends, some watching TV while Keith focused on the bartender who was cleaning glasses. Keith slid up to the bar resting casually against it waiting as the bartender, his name tag reading ‘Ryan’ glanced up to look him over. “Can I help you?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah, do you recognize this man? He came to this bar pretty often.” He held up a picture of Julio-one of his Instagram selfies Pidge had printed out for him. Ryan gave the photo a slow gaze-seemingly checking out Julio a bit before handing the picture back to Keith. “I think I’ve seen him from time to time.” He stated, face not moving an inch as he continued to wipe glasses. Keith pulled out his little notebook to start taking notes, something Shiro got him to start doing since he usually had a one track mind and would hyper focus on one thing and not the whole picture unless he was in ‘super sleuth mode’ as Pidge called it.

“Were you working on the night of the fifth?” Keith asked, as Ryan nodded. Keith pulled out another picture, one of the first victim. “Did you see this man that night and was he talking to anyone while he was here?” Ryan gave the picture another look over but ultimately shook his head.

“I’m sorry but as much business as we get, its hard to keep track of who comes in here and who speaks with who. I could get my manager, maybe they might be able to help you out?” Keith shook his head, they would have to speak with the manager soon about all of this, but right now he didn’t want to raise anymore suspicions given he knew the media was already out for blood, waiting for the next scoop to raise panic in this city.

“That’s okay for now. Is there anyone who comes in that stands out to you? Acts sort of strange? Maybe doesn’t interact with other people or even drink anything?” Keith pressed. If their killer was using this place to do his hunting then chances are he was probably some social recluse who didn’t drink, wanting all his senses working properly before he killed again. Ryan kinda paused, as if staring into the abyss thinking until he slowly started nodding his head.

“Yeah..there’s this one guy who comes in from time to time, my coworkers and I joke about him only because he seriously creeps people out when he comes in. I’ve only seen him once but he was sitting in the corner over there, it was really dark and he was just staring at everyone else, like hardly even blinking. It was so eerie. He wasn’t drinking anything at the time and I believe the others say he never orders anything when he comes in and he doesn’t dance either. He just..sits there.”

Keith frowned, this sounded like their killer alright. Of course Keith himself wasn’t much of a social drinker unless he was nagged about it by his coworkers or Shiro to ‘loosen up’. He also didn’t dance either, believing himself to be too awkward and unaware of what to do with his limbs, so he didn’t want to say all people like this man could be potential killers, but at the same time, why come out to a bar on one of the busiest nights to watch others drink and dance while sitting in a dark corner alone? 

“Can I get a description of this man?” Ryan nodded, recalling what he could remember in the low lighting and what he noticed from afar.

“He was sitting down but he seemed like he had long legs and was pretty fit. He was wearing a suit which I thought was a little odd to be wearing at midnight. His hair was really bright, we have blacklight lighting in some areas and it made his hair seem like it was white. That’s all I can remember unfortunately, no wait..he also had the creepiest eyes ever, like they were staring through my physical body and judging my soul.”

Keith froze picturing the blue eyes thats been haunting him lately and shuddered. After jotting down the description Keith thanked the bartender and left the bar. Standing outside, Keith quickly pulled out his phone, to tell Allura of a possible suspect.

_"Keith?”_

“Allura, I just spoke with one of the bartenders at Queer Pong and I think I got the description of a possible suspect. Apparently, this guy’s been coming to the bar for a while and his behavior is bizarre enough, I think he might be the killer we’re after.”

_“Excellent! Keith report back to the precinct so we can go over-”_

“Excuse me sir!” Keith glanced up startled only to blanch when he saw a tv reporter and a cameraman running towards him, microphone held tightly in her grip.

“Shit.” Keith swore, ending the call while glancing around for his motorcycle. He dashed towards it, hoping he could avoid the annoying reporter but she immediately halted his path by stepping in front of him.

“Sir if you could please just answer some questions-”

“No comment!” Keith growled, brushing past her only for the woman to jump in front of him again. How was she doing that, and in heels?

“Sir were you investigating a lead for the Blue-Eyed Butcher case thats been hanging over this city?” She demanded, shoving the microphone into Keith's face who growled and shoved it away.

“Fuck off already-”

“Is it true the Butcher is targeting only members of the LGBT community?” She asked, looking smug as Keith paused, frozen by her words. Keith turned, giving her a hard glare, muttering “No comment,” before righting himself on his motorcycle and revving the engine. As the reporter continued firing question after question, Keith answering noncommittally until he finally sped off down the street, anger slowly giving away to regret as he thought back over the questions she asked him and the answers he didn’t have.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shits about to hit the fan! keith has to deal with consequences of his actions, Lance has an interesting lunch date, but comes home one night to something much worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I was sick, then got writers block, been working alot, bunches of stuff. Also I'm writing a Halloween special for my Hello Officer~ series, so shance fans if you're interested, be on the lookout!
> 
> Here's a link to the creepy/beautiful? poem that was used for this fic: https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/beautiful-blue-eyes/page-1/3654403/
> 
> Guess who was inspiration for that poem? ;)

The air outside the cafe was fresh, feeling more like a nice Spring day, breaking up the awful June heat the city had been slammed with the past few weeks.

Lance sipped his vanilla latte, enjoying the warm taste and pleasant atmosphere. Normally he’d never go to a place like this, preferring Hunk’s bakery and the promise of free coffee whenever he wants, rather than the expensive pricing and out of walking distance small cafe he was at but Lotor was paying and also his patron so if he wanted to spend money on Lance, he wasn’t going to fight it. So he sat back, smile on his face, trying to look engaged with the conversation as his past instructors/dance coaches would tell him, trying to fight the small nagging feeling that something weird was amiss here.

“So how is practice coming along? I imagine you must have been very excited when you were offered the lead role for _Ocean’s Kingdom_.” Lotor smiled, making a small flutter in Lance’s chest grow. He couldn’t deny, this man was absolutely handsome, this week had been very giving regarding all the handsome men that were now coming out to greet Lance’s gay ass since he moved to this city. ‘Thank you God, I will go to mass like a good little catholic boy next time,’ Lance inwardly praised, giving Lotor a pleased smile in return.

“It’s coming along great! I was shocked when I heard I got the main role since I’ve only just been hired recently..and I’m not a girl…But still! When I heard one of our patrons specifically requested me to play the lead, I didn’t know what to think. I hope I can do your recommendation justice sir, I will give this role my all for you.” Lance promised, a determined look on his features as Lotor regarded him quietly.

“That’s what I like to hear. There’s something about you that calls to me Lance. When I saw your head-shot in the dancer’s information book I knew there was more out there for you, someone just had to believe in you. I’m glad to be the first to sponsor you in your creative abilities.” Lance beamed, taking those kind words to heart as Lotor gazed over him intently.

“So tell me Lance, your skin looks so incredibly soft. What do you use?” He asked, throwing Lance off a bit, the star-dazzled feeling going away quickly. “What?”

“Your skincare regimen. Your skin is absolutely glowing, it's wonderful.” Lance blinked unsure how that topic came up but shrugged, seeing no harm in answering an innocent question.

“Well aside from dancing, I also do a little modeling from time to time. This one time I modeled for a skincare brand for men. They gave me free products as a gift so I’ve been using them mostly. Do you want to know the brand, or?” Lotor shook his head, instead reaching out to cradle Lance’s cheek in one hand, ignoring the hard flinch Lance made as his cold hand touched his warm skin.

“Your skin is just so beautiful is all, so tan.” Lotor replied, staring like Lance was a bug under a microscope as Lance frowned from the slightly racist choice of words.

“I’m also Cuban, so that probably has more to do with it than anything else.” He offered helpfully as Lotor practically purred at the information.

“The Caribbean huh? Very exotic.” He noted not missing the aggravated look crossing Lance’s face. “I’m getting very off track, my apologies.” Lance nodded, glancing around hoping no one was hearing this embarrassing conversation.

“Let’s just put it behind us. Uh, what got you interested in ballet in particular?” Lance questioned as Lotor smiled, seeming to reflect a little.

“It’s such a skillful, beautiful art, and the dedication most people have for it is truly amazing. Some say it’s simply wearing tutu’s and twirling around on stage but its ten times more than that. Simply bending the body in a way and how it can channel emotions of anguish and power in just a simple move of the body part is utterly fascinating. It’s a shame more people don’t see that. Ballet is truly a lost art in modern times.” Lance beamed at the words. He loved hearing people praise what he did for a living, specially when people took notice of the time and dedication it took him and others to simply move with grace on the stage as they did.

“Wow Lotor, that means alot! Thank you.”

“I mean every bit of it Lance. The toll your bodies take for such an art is so macabre and inspiring. It’s so horridly fascinating how little by little your body is getting mangled from all the years of restraining your movements and sometimes you even have to dance through your injuries. I’m sure you know about the toll your feet take over time, do you Lance?” Lotor asked, his eyes boring into Lance’s as Lance sat there stunned by the rant.

“I-I mean, I have had injuries in the past, its just something that comes with the job, generally we all know what we’re signing up for. It’s just, you have to really love what you’re doing to put up with it.” Lance simply said, not sure what to exactly say to the intense man before him. Lotor must’ve accepted his answer, choosing to sip from his drink as an earlier question popped up into Lance’s head again.

“Lotor how did you recognize me in _Night and Day_?” He asked. He could tell Lotor was about to wave it away but Lance held his hand, gaze insistent.

“No please, I’m curious. I was simply a background dancer, my name was in the program but how could you tell it was me up there from my name alone?” 

Lotor put down his drink, giving Lance a cool look that had him sitting back against the chair, letting go of his hand and wondering what he must’ve said this time to piss somebody off when Lotor sighed, giving in.

“Well during rehearsals, all patrons are allowed to attend to see how everything is coming along which is how I noticed you. When I pointed out your form to the director, he happily gave me your name but to put it simply, I found you easily because you didn’t dance like the others.” He replied shortly as Lance blanched.

“So my dancing stood out to you?”

“Yes. It was like you were trying to fit in with everyone else, but I could see that some of your movements weren’t in rhythm with the others.” At that, Lance deflated, staring at his hands in his lap until Lotor gently took one of his hands and held it in both of his.

“I can see that my words hurt you. Let me clear some things up; I meant your individuality is a good thing. It’s good to have a certain style that makes you stand out from all the others.” Lotor assured as Lance flushed a bit from the praise.

“Isn’t that a bad thing when you’re cast as a background dancer?” He asked, a bit confused as Lotor waved his concerns away yet again. The action was starting to annoy Lance a little bit.

“Not at all. It means you get noticed and getting noticed gets you the main roles earlier on. At least that’s always been my philosophy regarding the arts.” Lotor shrugged, sipping his americano as Lance frowned in thought.

“I always believed in hard work paying off. It’s what helped me get this far. I guess everyone has something different that drives them to their passion.” Lance offered, smiling a little as Lotor stared at him, a small smile stretching his perfect face.

“You are absolutely adorable Lance.” Lance felt his brain short-circuit as his entire body blushed from head to toe as Lotor sat there amused at the speechless man before him.

“Wha, I uh, huh?” Lance not-so-intelligently replied as Lotor chuckled, the sound stirring up more heat as Lance suddenly wished for the second time today for some universal being in charge to wipe his existence off the planet as Lotor studied him closely.

“Are you always this red when someone complements you?” He asked with Lance gaping, mouth moving like a fish as he tried to think of an answer when Lotor checked his watch, a Rolex of course, when he made a sound kin to disagreement.

“We’ll have to cut our time short, I’m afraid I’m needed back at work. I hope you can accept my sincerest apologies Lance for having to say good-bye. I hope we’ll meet again soon.” Lotor spoke, a deep sense of sadness for actually having to leave Lance. ‘This guy is super nice,’ Lance thought mystified by the whole ordeal. With Lotor insisting on calling a car for Lance to take him back to the studio despite Lance’s protests, Lance couldn’t help but feel like Lotor was trying to hide something as he sat in the backseat of a 2018 Rolls Royce Phantom, leg propped up on the other seat, his thoughts miles away.

When he arrived back at the theatre, his thoughts were still muddled on the whole lunch, as Paolo kept asking him over and over how things went, did he flirt a little bit, some patrons were into that, while the director made sure to ask about the sponsorship, making sure that was still indeed a thing but Lance waved them off, wanting to at least stretch his other muscles so he wouldn’t be too rusty when he returned to class.  He was hoping for some peace and quiet, to reflect on his thoughts while he did so, but apparently the whole company had heard about the lunch date with the patron, some coming up to ask how it went, others asking if they had a quickie at the man’s apartment which brought up Lotor’s earlier comments on calling him ‘cute’ and left Lance red and embarrassed all over again. 

The rest of the day flew by, thankfully his ankle wasn’t bothering him as badly, but the nurse advised him to take it easy the next few days, giving Lance a not so subtle wink as he left. It wasn’t until he got home, one cab ride paid for by the director, the door locked like had left it this morning, when he remembered that letter he found.

Curious, Lance pulled it out of his bag realizing again now that he was more awake, there was no return address, stamp, or anything other than the words Lance McClain written in a navy blue calligraphy scrawl. To Lance, it even looked kinda pretty.

With excitement and intrigue coursing through his veins, Lance opened the letter, making sure to not tear it open as he usually did with flimsy envelope paper when he unfolded a letter, only it wasn’t a letter but a poem. Lance scanned over the neat words, his smile quickly replaced with a frown as he read;

_‘_ _Blue eyes so full of life_

_A wonder all of their own_

_So beautiful and precious_

_Oh to see those eyes smile_

_Such a beautiful sight_

_How I love to look into those eyes_

_When I look into them_

_A kind of peace comes over me_

_Beautiful blue eyes_

_Always haunting me_ _’_

Lance stared frozen, the words were written beautifully in the same navy blue calligraphy scrawl as his name. Lance was never a fan of poetry, recalling the times he had to learn them and write his own that always came out jumbled words of nonsense than actually fulfilling their purpose but as he stared at the poem, the last few lines especially sinking into his brain, he discovered a new dislike for poetry. A dislike that was leaning more towards unease.

 

*********

 

_“Have you learned anything more about the Blue-Eyed Butcher sir?”_

_“What? Where did yo-”_

_“When will the public get more information about him? Are the police even close to closing in on this man?”_

_“No comment!” Keith brushed past the reporter and cameraman flinching when she grabbed his sleeve and shoved her mic in his face._

_“Are you saying the public doesn’t deserve to know whats happening in their city?” She asked indignant which Keith gave her a hard glare._

_“I said no comment!” He growled which shook her grip off as he grabbed his helmet nad hopped onto his motorbike, speeding away in the distance as the woman turned to the camera shaking her head._

_“There you have it folks, Altea City’s police department once again avoiding anything about the current Blue Eyed Butcher serial killer that’s at large since the murder of Jason Garcia and at least three others. Our recent victim is Julio Martinez, a successful lawyer also struck down by the butcher, same as the others. Is this killer at large targeting strictly gay Latino men? Find out more at our six o’ clock eyewitness news. Back to you-”_

Allura shut the TV off as Keith rubbed his face in his hands in regret. Pidge merely looked annoyed, the TV reporter’s words running through their mind.

“That’s exactly what we wanted to avoid Keith, now the city is going to go into a panic over this! They’ll want a statement I’m sure.” Allura muttered, talking mostly to herself as Keith nodded.

“As long as I don’t have to give the statement.” He declared as Allura shook her head.

“No it will be better coming from someone of my authority. Unfortunately the bad news doesn’t end there, the police commissioner saw this and its as bad as we predicted.”

“Look, she caught me by surprise outside the Queer Pong! They must’ve been following me all day to see where I was going! I can be a detective and find out some answers but I’m not dealing with the press!” Keith spat out, hunching in on himself more as Allura sighed.

“The issue remains that the police commissioner is now aware of the situation and breathing down our necks if we don’t solve this thing. We either bring the public some peace of mind, or he could give the case over to the FBI. We are under an enormous amount of pressure to find this person, I fear the commissioner is going to ask for a statement…”

“The old fart is welcome to try solving this himself then if he’s that desperate. Maybe he’ll learn a thing or two about investigating.” Keith snorted as Allura gave him an unamused glare.

“Pidge?” The I.T. genius glanced up giving their captain their utmost attention as Allura gestured to their laptop.

“Have you found a lead with the description the bartender gave Keith?” She asked hopeful but deflated as Pidge shook their head.

“Unfortunately, the world is not lacking in tall men with light hair. We would need something that stands out more than that.” They pointed out which prompted Keith to rise from his seat, an idea obviously lighting up his face.

“Allura I may have an idea-”

“Oh god help us all.”

 

*********

The killer sat back on the couch, swirling the wine in his glass as he thought about todays events. _He_ looked amazing today. It took everything in him not to touch him so obscenely like he’d been waiting to do for so long, that definitely would’ve scared him off, like a shy little rabbit in front of a wolf. No, he had to be patient. He would soon be close to his beautiful prize, those delightful blue eyes will be gazing only at him with such fondness. There was a scuffle behind the killer which had him turning to see his victim shuffling in his bindings again, body splayed out in the right position as the killer chuckled darkly, stalking towards his victim. 

“Already grown bored of our little game I see. Don’t worry I think its time we get started on the main event, don’t you agree?” He grinned enjoying the way his victim’s eyes grew wider in fear.

With a delighted laugh, he wound his arm back and managed a blow to the man’s head, the man no longer whimpering or crying. He wasn’t dead yet, just unconscious. It would be easier to cut him apart for his little project when the man wasn’t screaming, his neighbors were too close for that in this tiny apartment complex. With a distracted hum, the killer hummed a few notes of the song he currently had stuck in his head as he grabbed his trusted knife and started to slice. 

 

*********

 

Lance was hobbling downstairs after the rough day he had yesterday, what with twisting his ankle and all. He sighed thinking about class and what the others were possibly learning right now, wishing he could go back but knew better after the fourth time he tried to sneak back in. Paolo had shooed him out like some common street cat with a heart of gold, telling Lance he needed to get better and consider it a vacation which had Lance downright crying because who would spend their vacation at home?

Besides, even if Lance had wanted to stay at home he couldn’t relax! Ever since he read that creepy letter, he had goosebumps and the creepy crawlies combined! Lance sighed, quickly going through his mail, mind replaying those chilling words as he skimmed the addresses, recognizing a few letters from his family. With his mind occupied by brighter things, he almost missed the delicious snack in a leather jacket slip by until he paused outside the elevators, cursing aloud when he noticed the repair sign. 

“Keith?” Keith spun around, his annoyed expression slipping into surprise as he pointed at Lance.

“Lance?” Sensing an opportunity, Lance pointed back at Keith, an obnoxiously surprised expression on his face.

“Mullet?!”

“It’s not a mullet!” Lance laughed hobbling forward a bit and even losing his grip on his crutches a bit until Keith quickly slid forward and caught him around the waist, holding him up.

“You’re..on crutches? And you have a wrapped ankle..what happened?” He nearly demanded as Lance blinked. Wow, what excellent skills of deduction, Lance shrugged about to launch into a tale of some heroic rescue but the look Keith was giving him had him quickly changing his tune.

“I was doing some leaps the other day and landed on my foot wrong. It’s only a minor injury, I’ll be back on both feet, doing pirouettes around you before you know it!” Lance declared much to Keith’s chagrin.

“Uh..sure.” Keith had no clue what those were, but he knew he would certainly be googling ‘pier-eh-wets’ later. He thought about asking but decided to check his mail instead, also noticing Lance’s hobbling and remembered to offer his assistance for the stairs once he was finished.

“So..should I bring up that news report?” Lance smirked which had Keith stiffening in response.

“Or we could ignore each other, like normal neighbors.” Keith pointed out as Lance shook his head, chuckling.

“A bit camera shy aren’t we detective?” Lance teased as Keith groaned, dragging his hand through his hair which did not cause Lance to flush, imagining that hand as his own feeling those soft raven locks through his fingers. No sir, not at all.

“Of course you saw that embarrassing display.”

“Duh! It’s everywhere, I was just waiting at the coffeeshop when I saw the report.”

“Okay but let me just say though, I was caught unawares and they were following me all da-“

“Hey, whoa time out! Keith I’m not judging, I promise! Honestly, the press can be sooo discourteous at times.” Lance humphed, nose sticking in the air as he spoke which drew out a small smile from Keith.

“What? Did your dancing get a negative review or something?” he chuckled as Lance gave him an affronted look.

“Rude! The camera loves me dude! It’s how I got my modeling career after all!” Lance bragged as Keith sighed.

“Well maybe next time, I’ll put you in front of the camera as a distraction, so I don’t have to talk.” Keith motioned towards the stairs that lead to the building where Lance’s apartment is. Lance gratefully accepted his company, finding it very sweet of the detective to carry his mail and help him up the stairs. They were about halfway up when Lance spoke, his voice a bit quieter than before, “I thought the lady was being ridiculous when she spoke about you anyways.”

Keith glanced at him, a bit stunned but Lance continued on, “I mean, of course the police can’t give out any information, what if the killer sees the news? He can’t know how you guys are gonna catch him!”

“Exactly! I get the public has a right to know but some things are too gory to tell, besides we can’t feed this guy’s ego. Talking about his crimes will just give him more fuel.”

“I understand. That being said..am I allowed to know the gory details?” Lance shot Keith a hopeful smile, his eyes and grin too childlike for Keith to handle, considering the horrifying information Lance wanted him to share. He wasn’t sure if he should be sharing that info with anyone who wasn’t a cop. Then again, Lance was just a concerned citizen..with a very cute butt and face to match.

“Okay fine.” Keith huffed as Lance let out a loud cheer. Keith jumped right into the case, telling Lance about that first phone call the precinct got when the first murder happened, to their most recent victim of the mysterious 'Blue Eyed Butcher'. Lance perked his head quizzically at the name but to Keith, he looked absolutely adorable.

“Why does he call himself that? Did the victims all have blue eyes?” Lance questioned as Keith sighed annoyed.

“No that was the stupid media sensationalizing everything and getting the facts wrong!” Lance blinked as Keith tried to calm himself down. “So where is the blue eyes thing coming from then?” He asked as Keith tensed, not going unnoticed considering one of his arms was wrapped around Lance’s waist. Keith however struggled whether or not to tell Lance that part, so far he managed to evade Lance’s curious questions regarding how the victims were dealt with, but he couldn’t avoid telling Lance either! He didn’t think he even had that power in him at the moment.

Keith hesitated but when he saw the concern that sparkled in Lance’s eyes, he new he was a goner as he blurted out, “Well uh, the killer has been scooping out the victims eyes, doing who knows what with them, and replacing the eyeballs with magazine cut-outs of someone's blue eyes. Every single victim we’ve found has had their eyes removed.” He said, mostly to himself as he thought over the case again, those blue eyes piercing his soul each time he gazed upon them. With the gears turning over in his mind as he begun thinking about the case, he almost missed the shudder that raked over Lance’s being.

“Sounds creepy alright. I used to think that shit was kinda cool, in a Criminal Minds fictional setting sort of way but now..” Lance huddled in on himself as Keith tightened his grip on his waist.

“I get what you mean. Unfortunately your fiction is my reality, and right now there’s a killer on the loose and I don’t have much time until the commissioner calls for a curfew or puts in a word with the big guys, the FBI.” Keith spat the word with a little disgust. In the end, yeah they would help save the day but no local cop/detective wants to hand over a case they wanted to desperately solve to someone else. As they reached Lance’s apartment, Keith noticed with a bit of sadness they would have to part. Lance must have came to the same conclusion as he graced Keith with his dazzling smile, beaming with gratefulness as well as loss for their short time together.

“Well this is me…” Lance trailed off uncertain as Keith nodded, suddenly feeling awkward and removing his arm from around Lance’s waist.

“Okay, would..do you want help going in, or-” Keith offered but Lance shook his head.

“No its fine. I’ll be alright.” Lance flashed another empty smile towards the detective, waving him off as Keith finally made to leave.

“Okay, if you need any assistance..you have Shiro’s number right?” Keith asked to which Lance nodded.

“Sure do! You gonna give me yours too?” Lance winked, playing up his flirty side as Keith rolled his eyes.

“No, if you call Shiro chances are I’ll be close by. See ya, good night.” Keith turned, almost kicking himself for not giving Lance his number, and headed down the stairs as Lance chuckled.

“Good night, Detective Mullet!” He called, receiving a parting wave accompanied by a one finger salute in response. As Keith finally left his sight, Lance turned back to his door, chuckling as Keith’s words repeated themselves over and over.

 _‘-if you call Shiro, chances are, I’ll be close by.’_ Lance sighed, trying to forget his stupid crushes on both of the officers. Of all people he had to crush on this year, crushing on a gorgeous couple AT THE SAME TIME, really took the cake. Way to go, Lancey-Lance, you sure know how to pick em’. Collapsing his head against his door, Lance sighed thinking about the two of them together, wishing he had someone to hold and be with for those lonely late nights. Sure, he could adopt a pet which would help but with his busy schedule and crazy hours, it wouldn’t be fair to the animal if Lance was hardly there to take care of them. It was a depressing realization, considering how badly Lance wanted a cat at least, but in the end, he was being responsible and choosing to wait on the pet adoption idea. He could just be lonely instead!

With those slightly depressing thoughts, Lance remembered the gathering happening at the Queer Pong and decided some late night fun was in order, despite Keith and Shiro’s warnings. What they don’t know won’t hurt them! With a resolute nod to himself and his future plans, Lance unlocked his door, almost forgetting just how long getting his mail had taken him. What usually was a five minute chore had turned into a forty-five minute conversation between him and Keith plus having to maneuver up and down the stairs with his crutches made the trip longer. Lance hobbled inside after opening the door, switching on the light as he entered but paused in confusion, when had he turned the lights off? Shrugging, Lance was putting his keys in the little bowl by the door when he finally glanced up and froze in place, gazing around his apartment. Lance drew back, crutches forgotten as they clattered to the floor while Lance lifted a hand to his mouth in horror before the whole scene caught up to him and he let out an ear-piercing scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy your cliffhanger HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *spooky laugh echoes*


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance walks into something very troubling, Keith tends to another victim and Shiro goes to help his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, had to finish my other story and then work has been keeping me busy. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the long wait especially with that naughty cliffhanger in the end there hehe.

Lance stared at the state his apartment was in, there was nothing out of place, all his belongings once again right where he left them..but now there were some new..additions. 

For starters, Lance followed the trail of rose petals, leading from his front door, under his feet before splitting into two directions, one trail leading to his bed. Some petals scattered on top of the duvet, he realized someone had also made his bed up since Lance never made his bed up unless he was having company over! Or his Mama called him through Facetime on their phones. Lance turned to see the other trail of petals lead to his bathroom, the door left ajar, raising more goosebumps on his skin.

There was also soft music playing, Lance recognized the lovely soft Spanish guitar music crooning throughout the apartment, it was one of his favorite songs and most played in his playlist. It was a song his parents often slow danced to, even playing it on their anniversaries, sometimes they would dance to it late at night when they thought their children were in bed. Lance could remember all those times he had been little and stayed up with his older siblings to spy on their parents, wondering what it was they did past their bedtime. Lance remembered watching his parent’s relationship with fondness, hoping one day he’d get to play and dance to this song with his future spouse, but now he could only listen in fear as he wondered who could’ve possibly known to search through his music and choose one of the most romantic songs out of thousands. Breathing heavily, Lance walked over to his speakers, eyes glancing around wildly in case the creep suddenly popped out right then to attack. Thankfully as Lance shut the stereo off, nobody jumped out, but the silence made everything much more eerie. 

Then there was the other petal trail...

Lance eyed the closed door warily, just because there was no eager masked killer in his living/bedroom, doesn’t rule out the perp hiding in the bathroom, waiting to strike. Lance gulped, hobbling a bit to crouch by his sofa, reaching under to grab the bat he hid there, the only security system he had to be honest, and quickly got up, bat steady and firm in his hands as he approached the bathroom.

Lance could hear his heart pounding louder than ever as he crept to the door, his fear taking over any trace of bravery as he thought about what he would do if someone was in there. Fend them off? Beat them to give him time to get away? He really loved the option that no-one was in there at all and he was being completely ridiculous. Chuckling without humor, Lance summoned every ounce of bravery in his bones before kicking his door open with his good foot and swinging his bat with a battle cry of, “Aahhh!”

It was empty.

Lance sighed with relief as he sagged against the door frame. As much as he would’ve loved to kick some weirdo’s ass and brag to Keith and Shiro, that they weren’t the only toughest guys in town now, he remembered the real reason why he came in there and glanced down to see the petals and followed their trail to the..bathtub…That was half full with bubbles and rose petals floating on top of the water. Lance dropped the bat as he inched closer to the tub, hand reaching in and drawing back with a yelp as he felt the warm temperature.

Whoever had been here, had done this very recently..in the short time Lance left his apartment to fetch his mail…Lance shivered as he eagerly grabbed his bat again, feeling slightly safer holding it until he noticed the magazine resting against the edges of the tub. Lance peered at the page it was dog eared on, his heart pounding once more when he saw the familiar ad that hosted his picture on it. It was an ad for a shoot he did a couple months back for a clothing brand. Right beside Lance’s face was a tiny little drawn heart.

Lance, as quickly as he could, hobbled towards the kitchen. He rummaged around the counter tops, leafing through some papers and contracts for upcoming photoshoots until he found the small business card Shiro had given him the first time they met. Glancing around the state his apartment was in, Lance pulled out his cell phone, quickly punching in the correct numbers and waiting with bated breath, hands shaking as it rang. 

_“Hello?”_

“Uh, Shiro? It’s me, Lance.”

 _“Lance? Is everything okay, what’s wrong?”_ Lance gulped as he glanced around his apartment, eyeing the rose petals, thinking about the letter he received to the magazine spread with his face and that little heart drawn next to it before drawing in a deep breath as he softly spoke,

“I think I’m in trouble.”

 

*********

 

There was buzz going around as Keith entered the small apartment, belonging to their fifth victim, Martin Reyes. They had gotten a call over the dispatch again, Martin’s roommate, Jules had found him. Blood all over the room, limbs..just like the others. Keith watched as the roommate began to turn green as he described the scene he stumbled upon after coming home after work. 

“I mean, I thought it was weird I haven’t heard from him all day considering he usually sends me one hilarious cat meme every morning.” Jules stated, one police officer writing everything down diligently as Keith looked them over.

“Cat memes?”

“Yeah man! Look, I had this one saved all day! See? The cat is being asked if hes aware hes a cat! Like it's a real interview! His expression is so priceless!”

“Okay, it’s not funny if you have to explain it.” Keith grumbled turning away. Actually, he was so going to send that to Shiro later, he’d get a kick out of it.

“Keith, will you please come look at this.” Allura called. Keith strode past the officers and forensics crew, some already rolling out the crime scene tape over the bedroom door. Keith glanced around the bedroom, seeing this amount of blood didn’t make him as squeamish as when he was first learning about this stuff in school. It wasn’t quite as horrific as the crime scene of the fourth victim, but there was still a good amount of blood drenching the sheets, the mattress probably soaked through. As he was staring at a particular blood spatter, noticing the shape slightly resembled Mothman the cryptid, the prattle of his coworkers had him finally tuning in as Pidge delicately looked over the body’s hands.

“There are markings on his wrists, indicating he was restrained when the killer started slicing and dicing.”

“Pidge!”

“Well, how else am I supposed to describe it?! Dude was sliced up like a deli ham!”

“Pidge, the extra detail is not necessary nor appreciated.” Allura spoke, pinching the brow between her pointer finger and thumb. Pidge rolled their eyes mouthing silently ‘whatever’ as they kept looking over the body.

“There’s also a wound to the victim’s temple. Our killer must’ve knocked him out beforethey went in for the kill.” Pidge stated as Keith wandered over to take a look for himself. Like Pidge gruesomely described, the body was considerably sliced up more than the others, perhaps their killer had a more difficult time with the process? Keith frowned to himself wondering why that would be since serial killers would gain more expertise as they murdered. This recent killing however..it looked more like a first time slaying than the actual first murder.

“Allura this doesn’t add up. How come this victim is more torn up than the others? I mean, the first murder had more precision and less flesh bits laying around.” Keith spoke, his mind racing with possibilities as Allura looked over the body, considering there wasn’t much else to look at right now. The body was laying on its right side, the left leg was laid out, cut up along where thigh met hip, only it seemed our murderer couldn’t get a decent grip on their weapon or the body. The leg was poised straight as a pencil, towards the headboard with the other leg pointing towards the foot of the bed. Looking at the body overall, you could see that the killer wanted this person poised in such a way the body wasn’t flexible enough to do so on its own.

Even the ankles were sliced up, torn ligaments and flesh as each foot was also posed straight and in alignment with the leg, creating a ninety degree angle. The arms were in a similar predicament unfortunately. The left arm pointing towards the foot of the bed with the right pointing towards the headboard, arms cut from the elbows so they were perfectly straight. Shoulders were dislocated, either before or after the killing, they weren’t sure yet, forensics would have to tell them later.

The ultimate creep factor here though, was the man’s face. It was set in a peaceful, sleeping expression. A gentle smile curving the man’s mouth, as if he was dreaming something pleasant. At least his eyes were closed unlike the others. Keith slid on a pair of gloves, the band snapping against his wrist as he kneeled beside the body. He swatted away a few flies buzzing around as he leaned forward ignoring the slight stench of the body that thankfully hadn’t become too strong yet. Carefully, he lifted each eyelid, confirming what he already knew would be there.

Blue peered back at him, although a bit smudged and losing some of its brilliance due to the dried blood and eye fluids. Keith sighed upon seeing them, standing back up allowing one of the forensics specialists to get closer as he turned to face Allura. She was speaking quietly through the phone, although as Keith paid more attention, it seemed Allura was doing more head nodding and murmuring in agreement than talking. He waited patiently knowing it was usually best not to interrupt Allura when she was busy like this, his curiosity growing more and more until she finally said her goodbyes and hung up. With a huff, Allura turned to face Keith and Pidge, who had also joined them.

“That was the commissioner. He’s waiting at the precinct for us.” She muttered before stalking off towards the door with Keith and Pidge at her heels.

“He’s here already? For what?” Pidge asked, doing their best to keep up with the hurried steps of the other two until they paused outside the elevator.

“That reporter’s impromptu interview worked, apparently there’s more questions and concerns from the public and the commissioner wants us to issue a statement to the media.” Allura explained, tapping her feet as she waited impatiently for the dingy elevator to open. As the three climbed inside, waiting for the machine to slowly descend, Keith turned to face Allura, feeling even more guilty.

“What should we say?” Allura sighed, her lips pursing in thought until she finally shrugged as if all the fight has drained from her.

“We’ll just have to come forward to the public about it. There’s panic growing every second the killer is loose so we’ll have to take extra precaution for the safety of the civilians. The commissioner is going to want to set a curfew of course-”

“But that would just prolong our investigation! How are we going to catch our killer if there’s no victims?” Pidge demanded ignoring Keith’s slightly horrified; “Jesus Pidge.”

“You know that’s not what I meant! What if the killer decides to strike during the day? How’s a curfew going to help that?” Pidge finished as Allura massaged her temples in frustration.

“I’m only telling you what the commissioner is likely to do Pidge, I do not like it anymore than you do! He is the head of the city police department and we will do what he suggests.” She stated, a final warning clear in her tone as Pidge grumbled, leaning against the walls as Keith turned towards both of them.

“Allura what about my idea earlier to help us catch this guy? We don’t have any other options.” Keith offered as Allura rose to her full height when the doors opened, the trio walked out of the apartment building. The sun was shining high for mid afternoon, people milling about the scene, curious as to why the police were hanging around, but after that news story, they probably already had a good guess.

“Keith it’s a brilliant idea but there is a number of safety risks involved.” Allura pointed out climbing into the drivers seat as Keith in the passengers, and Pidge sprawled in the back.

“But we could send some cops undercover in the Queer Pong, spread out and try to catch the killer at his hunting grounds. We’re not finding a single clue as to who this perp is, they haven’t left a single trace of their identity.” Keith persuaded as Pidge perked up.

“You willingly sending a bunch of cis, straight cops into an LGBT bar, pretending they’re gay to catch a murderer sounds like it’s destined to go wrong.” Pidge snorted as Keith gave them a hard glare.

“It’s all we have at the moment! I’m not seeing you come up with any ideas, genius.”

“Hey! I mostly deal with cybercrime and non-government issued hacking!”

“Detectives! Settle down, please!” Allura spoke, exhaustion in every syllable as she glared them both down.

“I say we go with it, its the only plan we have so far, other than finding this person with our usual deduction skills. Unfortunately, since it seems we’re getting nowhere with those skills alone, we’ll have to resort to..creative measures to catch our killer. Hopefully the commissioner will agree with us. Let’s discuss the game plan for the undercover operation and see if that appeases the commissioner enough to go through with it.” She said, giving Keith and Pidge a hopeful expression that had them smiling a little as well.

“Look, we already have a description of a possible suspect, if this guy shows up during our undercover mission, we’d be closer to catching the killer.” Keith explained as Allura nodded with Pidge excitedly whipping out their tablet, already spouting about obtaining a copy of the Queer Pong’s blueprints, planning how the setup would look and who would be best suited for such a mission. Keith grinned as the three continued to drive down the street, a plan already in motion.

 

                                                                                           **********

 

Shiro quickly bounded up the stairs to the familiar apartment. 

From what Lance had told him over the phone, he didn’t want to waste a second, especially thinking about all the possible danger Lance could be in. His thoughts strayed to the tone of Lance’s voice when he spoke earlier on the phone, a slight waver almost like he was about to cry which spurred Shiro to push himself harder as he climbed the final step to Lance’s floor. 

He raced to the door, knocking impatiently until he called out an urgent, “Lance?” as the door flew open, a very freaked out Lance standing there, looking haunted as he regarded Shiro with wide, spooked eyes.

“Lance I came as soon as we hung up, are you okay?” he asked, quickly looking him over, not missing the wrapped ankle or crutches now propped up along the wall beside them as Lance sighed, feeling drained.

“I’m fine, nothing happened to me but..you know how I said my apartment was broken into again?” Lance asked as Shiro stepped inside, gazing around the apartment with a frown. The rose petals scattered across the apartment told him everything he suspected. When they spoke on the phone, Lance had explained everything, from the letter, to his short trip downstairs to fetch his mail, running into Keith, and finally coming back home to..this. The sight of a few candles well lit and going had Shiro seeing red as he carefully walked around the apartment, taking all the new additions in.

“You didn’t see anyone suspicious go past you or anything did you?” Shiro asked, although he already felt like he knew the answer. Lance merely shook his head no as he hobbled towards the couch, sitting carefully so as not to disturb the crime-scene as he tucked into himself. Shiro cautiously peeked into the bathroom, seeing the still filled tub and more rose petals which made him feel sick, especially when he noticed the magazine and Lance’s picture on it. Shrio carefully slipped some gloves on, he always carried some on him in case of an emergency, before picking up the magazine as he gazed at Lance’s picture. It was Lance, carefree, giving the candid shot a playful wink as he lounged on a deck chair. The tank top he was showing off had ridden up a bit, showing a sliver of the glowing brown skin hiding underneath the fabric. He was also wearing shorts that were so short, his legs looked even more long and slender, shimmering on the glossy magazine page that had Shiro idly wondering if this was a fashion magazine or a porno. His gaze travelled over the photo unthinking until his eyes landed on the small drawn out heart next to Lance’s face. Shiro frowned, wondering how someone could have gone up here in such a short amount of time to do all this, he got up to leave the bathroom, leaving the magazine where it was. Lance’s apartment had been broken into alright, but the person doing this wasn’t after his consoles or gadgets.

They were after Lance, a stalker of some sort who was very infatuated with the dancer. And from the way Lance was fidgeting on the couch, looking out the window where it was starting to get dark, Shiro knew Lance had come to the same conclusion.

“Lance you should grab your things. You may want to stay with a friend for a while.” Shiro advised, shutting the bathroom door so Lance wouldn’t have to see that upsetting display again. Lance nodded at his words, getting up as Shiro assisted him with packing a small overnight bag.

“I already called my friend Hunk and told him what happened. He’s letting me stay with him.” Lance explained as Shiro nodded. After tonight, he was definitely not comfortable with Lance being by himself, at least until this person was caught. Shiro had only dealt with a few stalking cases in his years on the force, but actually knowing someone being stalked, brought out this protective instinct in him, similar to when Keith goes on his dangerous missions. With his bag packed, Lance grabbed the crutches, hobbling out of his apartment as Shiro carried his bag for him. Normally Lance would have made some flirty comment about Shiro being such a gentleman and carrying his things for him, or offered for Shiro to carry him instead, since he pretty much looked like he could benchpress Lance alone. He held himself back though, remembering one, Shiro was already in a relationship with Keith and two, he was really not in the mood especially after the shitty way his day ended. The two quietly left the apartment in a solemn mood, Shiro wished he could say something or do something to put a smile back on Lance’s face, truly upset to see Lance so miserable but all he could offer was some advice.

“Lance I’m sorry this happened to you, I’ll do everything in my power to look into this. Obviously this is something more than just a break-in, and because of that, it’s best you’re somewhere safe and most importantly, not alone. Just for the next few weeks, don’t go anywhere alone, have someone with you at all times. Make sure you let the people over at the dance studio know what’s going on too. If this person tries to contact you again, please do not respond to them. If anything else happens, you know my number, I promise I’ll do everything I can to help you.” Shiro stated a determined look on his features that brought a small smile onto Lance’s face.

“Thank you Shiro.” Lance breathed feeling hope bubble in his chest once again, earning a small smile back as Shiro started the car. Lance glanced back at his building one last time as they drove away, leaving the rose petals and horrible night behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when I'll update next, hopefully it will be soon and now that this is the only fic I'll be writing/updating it should'nt be too long of a wait like last time. As always, thank you for the comments and kudos!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night at the Queer Pong yields dissapointing results for our favorite detectives while Lance finds another chilly surprise at work this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a bit of a short chapter, but alot is about to happen!

Keith sighed as he stood by the entrance to The Queer Pong, waiting in his position for the thousandth time that evening, eyes scanning over the same twenty people that had been there since he first arrived for their undercover operation.

‘So much for catching the Butcher.’ Keith thought glumly as he brushed his bangs out of his face while leaning against the wall. He was scoping out the scene, mostly people watching, looking out for any odd behavior from the partygoers but so far everyone who was here looked like they were drinking and having a good time.

He made eye contact with another officer, perched similar to his stance, only he was with another officer at the bar, the two making light conversation as their eyes scanned the room. God could they look anymore obvious? Keith went back to searching the area, so far his coworkers hadn’t seen anybody there who fit the description the bartender gave him, or anyone acting too suspiciously for that matter. They did however, catch some asshole trying to spike his date’s drink with rohypnol.

That had been a fun conversation that nearly blew their whole undercover operation.

Luckily the dill-hole was taken into questioning silently while his date had been extremely thankful, buying the officers who helped him a free round of shots, much to Allura’s dismay and Keith’s regret for this whole idea. As Keith continued his scoping, he also tried to keep an eye on where his boyfriend Shiro was lurking. Once Keith had told Shiro about the idea, Shiro had vehemently protested Keith being alone for the mission, hence why he was here, bravely sacrificing his peaceful Friday night to help catch this murderer.

“Keith! Some guy just bought me a drink. I told him I wasn’t really thirsty but then this other guy bought me a drink. Free drinks!” Shiro whispered excitedly as he came up to Keith, obviously enjoying himself despite his grumpy boyfriend’s discontentment with the situation.

A brave soul indeed.

“Shiro those guys were flirting with you.” Keith chuckled amused as Shiro just gazed him confused.

“They were? I just assumed it was some kind of special.” He muttered a bit embarrassed which had Keith biting his lip to prevent his amusement from showing.

“I’d be offended some guys were trying to steal you away but..I don’t blame them.” Keith stated, eyes roving over Shiro’s form, the tight shirt and leather jacket combo showed off his wide shoulders and big muscles. Ah, if he was religious he’d be thanking God for that fine ass.

“Anyways, have you spotted anything unusual yet?” Shiro asked, handing Keith one of the drinks as he glanced around the bar with an uncomfortable expression despite his attempt to look relaxed. Keith patted his shoulder, wishing Shiro didn’t drag himself into this mess, knowing he didn’t do well with crowds and the flashing lights from the dance floor weren’t helping his PTSD at all.

“No. So far everyone in my vicinity is here for the booze and to dance like cowboys on bucking horses in a rodeo.” Keith sighed ignoring Shiro’s snort from the analogy as he turned to head outside the small deck area, where it was slightly more quiet and where those who grouped up to smoke, hung out.

Keith, with Shiro following right behind him, shuffled over to the balcony that faced the main river that flowed through the city. Keith fiddled with his pockets for his pack of cigarettes and a lighter, quickly lighting one when he found them and allowing Shiro to bum one off him.

“You know, Allura might get pissed if she sees us out here smoking and drinking and not finding the ‘Butcher’ like we’re supposed to.” Shiro pointed out as Keith shrugged.

“Shiro we’ve been at this bar for the past few nights and we still haven’t seen any trace of a tall, light-haired man who hangs out in the dark corners of the bar and never drinks. We’d be better off searching a church with that description.” Keith complained, sighing as he slumped on the railing, missing the pitying look Shiro gave him.

“Well, no-one said being in the force was going to be easy.” Shiro offered lightly but watching Keith’s disappointed expression had him deflating even more, sorry to see his lover in such a state.

“Keith you’re smart and have very good instincts. This will probably take a little bit of time but I’m sure you’ll get this guy.” Shiro said, smiling a little as Keith glanced at him unsure.

“I’m just worried about the police commissioner. That old goon is probably going to call the FBI at some point, so impatient he is regarding how we run things.” Keith muttered as Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in to lean against his warm chest.

“Unfortunately that’s just how some things work. This has become a major public safety issue and even if the FBI were to get involved, that doesn’t mean you’ll be off this case entirely. They’ll need your instincts and sharp wit to help them solve it too.” Shiro soothed, offering Keith a hopeful smile that had Keith giving him one back.

The two eventually headed back inside, once they were done with their cigarette break, standing around some more until people began leaving in pairs. None of them fit the description of the man Ryan gave Keith, and didn’t fit the profile of their killer either. With the bar soon beginning to close, since it was almost three am, Allura gave Keith and Shiro clearance to head home, obviously disappointed their killer didn’t show up once again.

With their quick goodbyes to the others, mainly Pidge and Allura, they both headed home, Keith annoyed that they would have to try again tomorrow on a Saturday of all days where the bar would be at its busiest.

“Maybe our killer got caught up with their work?” Shiro joked, giving Keith a small peck before Keith punched him lightly on the arm.

“Shiro, this is no time for jokes.” Keith warned, cheeks flushing at the cute laugh that spilled from Shiro’s lips as he tugged him down the street.

“Sorry sorry, your place or mine tonight?” Shiro asked, watching as Keith’s face lit up with an idea.

“Mine. Maybe Lance is still up and if we’re lucky, maybe he’s doing yoga stretches at three in the morning, lets go!” Keith started but was held back by Shiro who had a frown on his face.

“He shouldn’t be home, there was another weird incident and I told him he was safer staying with a friend than by himself at his place.” Keith frowned at that, wondering what could’ve happened when Shiro paused again, holding Keith back from taking another step. Keith turned to Shiro confused, about to ask what was wrong when Shiro cut him off instead,

“I heard something up ahead. Sounds like a struggle going on.” He whispered, frowning in thought. They both paused, straining to hear despite the sounds of the city nightlife winding down after a long day when there was a slight muffled sound, like someone yelping followed by a sharp slap.

“Someone’s probably in trouble! Let’s go!” Keith declared, already racing up ahead, looking for the source of the fight, Shiro on his heels. Maybe they would be catching the Butcher tonight after all.

 

***********

 

Lance happily began putting his things back in his locker, ready for a nice hot shower after a rough day of classes. He’d been so happy he was allowed to come back to the studio with today being his first day, he may have overdone it with the pique turns since his ankle was feeling a tad more sore than yesterday. Plopping down on the bench, Lance gently removed his dance shoe, carefully massaging the sore area as he thought about what he would do when he got back to Hunk’s. 

Ever since that day he walked into that horrible scene at his apartment, Lance had been crashing at Hunk’s, the kind man allowing Lance to sleep on his couch, although with Lance’s ankle needing healing, he had offered his own bed. Of course, Lance being the generous humble person that he is, rejected the kind offer, knowing Hunk would need better sleep considering he has to get up at the ass crack of dawn everyday to bake pastries and open the bakery.

A kind soul indeed.

While staying with Hunk was usually like the best sleepover ever, he’d been developing a little cabin fever. It absolutely sucked being stuck in one place, not allowed to go anywhere as per Shiro’s and Hunk’s orders. Sure he liked his apartment or previously did, but he preferred to be outside at least once everyday whether it was going for a run in the park, visiting Hunk’s bakery, or going to the studio. Lance was an extrovert, he loved meeting people, whether they were new faces or old, and being where the party’s at. 

Now it was all ruined thanks to Lance’s ‘stalker’. Anytime he stepped out, even for a muffin from Hunk’s bakery he felt like he was being watched. Of course there was that small low self esteem part of him that shrugged off Shiro’s warning, wondering why anyone would even be stalking him to begin with. Sure, Lance had some great looks, he was a model after all, but he was also constantly busy, he rarely spent time with friends. He’s barely spoken with his family the past few weeks, which had him feeling even more down. Yeah, once this whole stalker business was over, he needed a mom talk asap.

Anyways, the fact that he even had a stalker seemed pointless to him, maybe some younger version of him would have found this exciting, when he was first starting out as a dancer/model, but now that he was older, it just sounded exhausting. He was so tired of the constant paranoia and keeping himself locked up in Hunk’s living room. The night after the rose petals happened, he had dreamt another presence looming over his makeshift-bed, a ghastly shadow lurking in the night and as a long phantom hand reached for Lance’s beautiful sleeping face, he had woken up to no-one in the apartment. Of course it was just a silly dream and Lance had a very active imagination, but still, all he could think about were the what-ifs? Which was why Lance was so done and tired of being cooped up. So when Nyma invited him out to join the others to the Queer Pong that evening, he had agreed feeling beyond excited to finally go out, Shiro’s warnings about staying in completely forgotten as he debated whether he was going to drink anything that night or not. Before he could go anywhere or take a shower for that matter, he needed to message Hunk and tell him where he’ll be at. If there was somebody obsessively stalking him still, he would at least be smart about it and tell Hunk his whereabouts, even if Hunk personally came down there to fetch his ass and keep him supervised at all times.

Which, Lance really hoped it wouldn't come to that. He was hoping to hook up with someone at least.

Lance also needed the time out to get over his rising feelings for two certain officers. If he hadn’t clued in that they were dating earlier he certainly knew now. After Shiro had seen his apartment they’d stopped at his precinct to file a report before dropping him off at Hunk’s. While he was waiting there, Lance had accidentally stumbled upon the two lovers in an embrace, Keith must’ve stopped by to visit him because why wouldn’t he as Shiro’s rightful boyfriend. Of course he had excused himself and left immediately, but seeing the two of them kept flashing over and over in his mind. At first he thought it was jealousy but who was he jealous of? He liked both of them for crying out loud. He certainly wouldn’t mind being part of that handsome sandwich if the opportunity ever presented itself. With those depressing thoughts in his mind, he was more than ready to escape for at least one night. Gathering his things together, Lance was about to shut his locker when he spotted the end of a white envelope sticking out from behind his bag. Apprehension and intrigue grew in his gut as he recalled the last time he received an unmarked envelope. A shudder came over him before he could stop it, glancing around to make sure he was alone, Lance quickly snatched the envelope and with more caution than a demolition expert, he slid the flap open before pulling out a piece of paper. Lance looked over the words with suspicion, but was left confused as he read; 

_‘Beautiful blue eyes_

_Always haunting me_

_...teasing me_

_Reminding me of what I want...can't have_

_Why do they haunt me so_

_When will I be free of them_

_Constantly held captive by those blue eyes’_

‘What the hell?’ Lance thought re-reading the words over and over. It must have been the second part to the first poem he got. Why was it in his locker then? Lance froze, realizing then the stalker must’ve followed him to the studio and figured out this was the locker Lance always liked to use. Glancing around jumpy and fearful, Lance also realized how truly alone he was in the locker room, a perfect place for someone to hide and watch someone without their knowing. Waiting for the right time to pounce…

Lance shook his head scoffing, he was just imagining things, whoever left him this note was long gone by now. He’d be sure to mention it to Shiro later, right now he needed to shower. With a careless toss, Lance threw the letter back into his bag before shutting the door, grabbing his things and heading to the showers. He was not going to focus on the creepy letter or its chilling message, nope not at all. And if he spent an extra amount of time stripping down inside the shower stall while checking around to make sure he was absolutely alone, it absolutely had nothing to do with the letter or his supposed stalker. Lance kept repeating that to himself as he finished getting ready for the evening, although despite his efforts the creepy crawling feeling he had before never left him even as he left with Nyma and the others to go to the bar, and certainly not when he was left alone, hiding amongst the enormous crowd of dancers, feeling more alone than any other point in his life.

 

                                                                                             **********

 

He watched, tucked in the shadows of the dressing room as his prize wandered off towards the showers, a place he hadn’t seen him in yet. He glided over to the lockers, a finger caressing the metal as he made his way towards the locker his beloved was using. Thankfully nobody was around, they would’ve certainly had to be dealt with and tonight he wasn’t in the mood for any slaying. With nimble fingers he managed to open the locker with ease, he was eerily good at being silent when he needed to be, a talent he always loved about himself. As he rifled through his beloved’s belongings, mostly looking for some clothes with his musk on them, he came across the letter he left. 

Frowning, he opened it to see the same blue scrawl he hired that artist to create, a bit confused and angry Lance would just toss it away like trash. And if he got a bit furious that his beloved would do something so careless like that it made him clench his fist in anger, he would deny it. After all, he could keep calm when he needed to. Once he has Lance in his grasp, everything would be fine and the dancer would know how much his love extends beyond just the written word.

With that thought in mind, he happily grabbed one of the tank tops Lance had worn, it seemed his beloved was procrastinating on doing his laundry, the naughty scamp. He inhaled the sweet musky scent of his beloved, wishing he had the real thing in his arms. With a sigh, he pocketed the shirt, placing his letter on top of the dance bag, he wanted it to be the first thing Lance saw when he returned, to remind him of his love for him. He quietly left the scene, prowling back into the shadows like a cat as he watched and waited for his beloved to come back. He knew Lance would be going out with the other dancers tonight. The idea of his Lance dancing with some loser at the club had his furious thoughts returning but he waved them away knowing if anyone were to touch what was his, they would be dealt with accordingly. 

And if he had to stay out all night to make sure that never happened, he would.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets in a bit of a pickle but he gets two knights in shining armor at the very least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this is the chapter with attempted rape. If you wish to skip it, skip the part where 'Lance squeaked..' to '..Sounds like a struggle going on' where any mention of Bad Touch has ended and is mostly just Lance fighting. I may be overdoing it a bit, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Lance had never felt so good in his life…And so empty. 

He was supposed to be having a good time right now, he was out for the first time in over month, dancing with equally attractive people, the drinks kept on coming, and he was dancing with a pretty good looking dude.

So why was he so unhappy?

Pausing in his dancing, Lance sighed, feeling his mood starting to turn more sour as the bodies around him kept grinding and sweating on each other. He nodded his head to his dance partner, letting him know he was taking a break. The guy, he wanted to say..Eric..simply nodded his head before moving in closer towards Nyma, who practically had a crowd dancing around her. Lance waved to her, letting her know he was heading to their table. Along the way he smiled and said hello to a few familiar faces, and some new ones who he hoped to get to know in the future. Finally, he collapsed in his seat exhausted, but still feeling the beat of the club music thrum in his veins when he realized how thirsty he was.

“Ohh..fuck!” Lance whined sagging further into the seat as he pouted in the direction of the bar. It was only one am and there was still a crowd of people there, fighting to get their hands on some alcohol as well as flirting with each other. It was like watching one of those nature documentaries, about safari animals and watering holes. Lance could’ve sworn he spotted Shiro amongst them, which would be very interesting considering Lance always assumed Shiro was more of a homebody than a social butterfly like he was. Just as he craned his neck to try to get a much better look, a familiar lean body moved in front of his vision. Lance looked up only to see none other than his bitchy coworker David of all people.

“Why are you sitting here looking so fucking depressed?” he asked, one eyebrow popping up in question as Lance scowled.

“I'm moping that we still have not invented bars that can teleport our drinks to booths. Duh.” Lance rolled his eyes for effect. David scoffed, a small smile on his face which had Lance blinking up at him in surprise.

“What’s your poison then sweetheart? Probably something fruity like you.” David teased making Lance scoff this time.

“Coming from you, it might actually be poison. And no, the only fruity drink I like is called saoco. It's got white rum mixed with coconut water, add some lime and a little sugar, mmh! Reminds me of home...Just get me a shot of Bacardi instead.” David nodded before he disappeared. Lance was honestly a bit shocked that David was even talking to him. When he first arrived to the dance company, he assumed David hated him based on the way he usually ignored Lance or how he often tried to put him down as if they were teenagers back in high school. Which is why when David brought him not only one but two shot glasses of the white rum and a wine spritzer for himself, Lance was confused and a little suspicious. He should have questioned David’s intentions but after all that he’d been through this week, Lance didn’t care anymore. Quickly, Lance threw both glasses down, blanching just a bit at the taste as David glanced him over slowly.

“Wow..drinking to forget, or to party?” He asked, taking a careful sip of his own drink. Lance shook his head.

“Neither to be honest. Just had a rough week is all.” Lance said, hoping that would be the end of it. David made some type of cooing noise, something akin to pity as he leaned closer.

“Tell me about it then. Talking sometimes helps according to my supposed therapist who I don’t see anymore.” He rolled his eyes as Lance chuckled.

“It’s a long complicated story, really.” Lance bargained, waiting for David to wave him off, change his mind but he continued to sit there, fully invested in whatever was going on in Lance’s life.

“So? Simplify it.” He shrugged, giving Lance a smirk as he waited for the other to begin. Lance carefully looked him over, just in case this was all just a prank but he finally relented, letting out a sigh as David kept sitting there patiently.

So Lance began, he told David everything that happened from the first time his apartment was broken into to the recent letter he received earlier that evening. By the time he was finished David shivered in his spot, looking spooked.

“Damn no wonder you’re so jumpy in class! I figured you weren’t watching your carbohydrates enough and were hyped up on sugar.” David explained, earning a sigh from Lance.

“No, and the worse part is that I have a crush on not only the captain who is solving my case, but his boyfriend who is also a detective from another precinct! I have a crush on the two hottest men I’ve ever met meanwhile there’s a psycho out there stalking me!” Lance lamented, covering his slightly aching head with his arms as David leaned forward to wrap an arm around him.

“Ohh poor thing. Hey, want to ditch this place and go get food? My treat, besides you look like you could use something to eat..I wasn’t kidding about those carbohydrates.” David stated pointedly. Lance bit his lip between his teeth, pondering whether he should go or not. On one hand, he didn’t really feel like going anywhere, especially considering those drinks plus the multiple others he consumed beforehand were trying to come back up, alcohol was definitely a mistake, if the way his stomach churned wasn't indication enough. 

On the other hand, it was nice chatting with someone about all his problems, of course he had Hunk to talk to but Hunk had a life of his own, the last thing he needs is Lance’s drama. He could probably just talk to Keith and Shiro but he didn’t want to dump his problems on them either, even if one of them is working on his case. The last thing Shiro needs to deal with is his emotional baggage and Keith was busy with catching that Butcher guy. He certainly didn’t need the added stress either.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Lance agreed, not seeing the heinous look David gave him as the two slipped out of their spots, heading over to the bar to pay their tab. As David paid for them, Lance scanned the crowd, wondering if he should tell someone they were leaving but was quickly distracted when he once again thought he spotted Shiro shuffling his way through the crowd.

‘God I must have drank more than I thought,’ Lance blinked trying to keep his gaze focused on one spot as David took his elbow and lead him out of the bar. As they exited, Lance sighed as they stepped out onto the quiet street, noticing with a grimace it was dimly lit which reminded him once more of those creepy letters. Lance shivered wondering if his stalker was watching him right now, hiding in the dark alleys waiting for an unsuspecting Lance so he could poun-

“Ahh!!” Lance screamed, jerking out of whoever’s grip on his shoulder, spinning to face David who gave him a startled look.

“Relax..Christ, you are jumpy. I was just leading us to my car is all.” David pointed out. Lance sighed, nodding as he took a step away to help breathe properly.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about my stalker again.” Lance admitted as the two began walking, Lance stayed away from any shadowy alleys though, just for his own peace of mind.

“Mhmm, right. Listen I know this won’t take your mind off it, but we’ll go grab something, in a very well-lit area of course.” David replied, taking a hold of Lance’s arm again and guiding him down the street, their soft footsteps the only noise he could hear aside from late night traffic sounds coming from downtown, far away from where they were at. In fact, now that Lance was thinking about it, he was pretty far away from downtown where most of the cops were hanging out. If something did happen to him…

Lance squeaked when David’s arm suddenly tightened around his and yelped when he was thrown against the brick building they were walking by. Lance gasped as any air he had was forced out as David shoved them further into the alley, dragging Lance away from the dim street lights and any chance for possible bystanders to come to his aid.

Lance shoved David away from him, succeeding just a bit in the fact he was a bit taller but David just came back at him harder, smacking Lance’s head into the building causing him to groan in pain, his head spinning and stomach twisting from all the jerky movement. Before Lance could do anything else, he felt cold, smooth lips descend on his own. Lance paused in disbelief for a second until he remembered who was kissing him and tried to force David back, only for the other to grab his wrists and pin them on either side of Lance’s head.

“Huh? David, wha-”

“Sorry for the change of plans, but I’m hungry for something else.” He smirked, eyes dark and scary in the dim lighting which had Lance shivering in this man’s grip.

“Look David, I’m not interested in you. And never will after tonight.” Lance glared him down, hoping the other dancer would back off but he just gave a noncommittal shrug.

“I’m not interested either, but since there was nobody at the bar who caught my fancy, I decided to take pity on you and your wallowing for a decent fuck at least.” He explained, feeling no remorse as Lance struggled more in his grip, glare more pronounced than before as he spat at the other.

“You fucking used me just so you could get in my pants? How desperate are you?” Lance scoffed, hoping that maybe if he humiliated him enough David would back off and Lance could flee the area.

That was not the case apparently.

“Oh please, what’s desperate is you coming up with that stalking story. Like why would someone stalk you of all people?” David asked, judgement laced in his tone as Lance stared back, a bit frightened that he may have a little more trouble getting out of this one.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the same person who randomly assaults his coworkers!” Lance cried out enraged. David just shook his head.

“Wow you’re so delusional if you think I would be stalking you. Anyways, lets get this over with.” David stated as he knelt down and began sucking on Lance’s neck causing him to cry out. 

“Get off of me, you..you cabron!” Lance demanded, twisting his head around to make it harder for David to latch on like a leech until he forced both of Lance’s wrists into one hand while he cupped his other hand over Lance's mouth, muffling any words or shouts that spilled forth.

“Can you shut up for once?” David asked annoyed before continuing his exploration of Lance’s neck much to Lance’s humiliation. He tried to recall all the self defense moves his brothers taught him, back when he was first getting teased and bullied for doing dance, but with David’s tight grip on his wrists and his full body weight on top of Lance’s, he could barely move, only squirm uncomfortably. Which judging by the tent in David's pants, was not turning him off. As David trailed his lips, giving Lance’s skin little nips here and there, Lance felt something hard prod against his thigh that had him panicking as he felt his own arousal respond.

“Wow hard already? Knew you were a slut.” David teased, rubbing his lower half against Lance’s that had him crying out in fear.

“-Sounds like a struggle going on.” Lance froze as he heard a disembodied voice speak. There was someone nearby who could help! As Lance's muffled shouts got louder, David swore quietly, slamming Lance against the wall, hoping to silence him, but Lance fought on, kicking and biting when he could. Finally after a harsh bite to David's hand, he released a loud, “Fuck!” that was followed by rushing footsteps. Lance deflated, thankful there was help coming as he sagged between the building and David’s grip, wishing once again, he hadn’t drunk any alcohol that evening.

 

                                                                                            **********

 

The last person Shiro expected to see in that alley was Lance who was caught in a compromising position with another male, who seemed to be backing off now as he and Keith blocked off the alleyway. 

“What’s going on here?” He demanded, using his authoritative voice that usually intimidated criminals. Lance glanced up at them, a grateful smile on his face but still showed traces of fear in there. Putting two and two together, Shiro frowned at the other male, about to ask again when Keith stepped up, seeming to also come to the same conclusion.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?” He asked, his tone making it clear he was not in the mood for games. Lance shuddered from his spot on the ground, Shiro fearfully wondered whether they were too late when the other male stepped up, holding out his hands to placate the cops.

“Hey he came on to me, I just want that on the record.” He stated as Lance gaped at him in outrage.

“Liar, I did not! He just tried to rape me!” Lance accused as David scoffed.

“Oh please, a little handjob maybe but nothing like that.” He froze as he realized what he said as Keith and Shiro closed in on him.

“Yeah you just sold yourself out there buddy. Why don’t we go down to the station and have a little talk?” Shiro asked, his glare making the other man whimper as Keith cracked his knuckles.

“Yeah…maybe not.” David said warily just before he pushed past Shiro, ducking under his arms and almost escaping the alley unscathed if it weren’t for Keith’s fist to his cheek. David got up quickly, scrambling away down the street calling out one last, "See you in class, slut!" as Keith shook his hand, noticing his bruised knuckles with a wince.

“Should we call for backup?” Keith asked, spinning around to see Shiro kneeling on the ground next to Lance, who was hunched over, throwing up his stomach contents it seemed.

“I’ll send out a dispatch to be on the lookout for him. Tomorrow we can take him in for questioning but ultimately it’s up to Lance if he wants to press charges.” Shiro stated, rubbing Lance’s back soothingly as he can while Lance finished coughing up bile.

“Thanks. I’d like to but right now I just want to go home.” Lance curled up then, not caring how ridiculous he looked. Shiro checked him over, taking in the dark eye bags, mussed hair, and slight hunch to his posture. It seemed Lance had lost his natural sparkle, his usual carefree, happy-go-lucky state, making Shiro clench his fist, wishing he knew who this stalker was, just to see Lance happy and comfortable again.

"Lance I know you want to go home but you can't, not until we catch this stalker of yours, for your safety." Shiro stated apologetically. Lance sighed, leaning back with a huff as he grumbled about how unfair it was. Keith watched them both, uncertain about what exactly was going on, and why Lance couldn't go home, (although he had an idea) wishing there was something he could do when an idea came to him.

"What if we took him home and stayed with him? I doubt this stalker will try anything if we're with him." Keith suggested. Shiro seemed to consider it, probably weighing the pros and cons in his head, with the main pro being they get to spend time with Lance, even if all he did was go home and sleep, it seemed likely given how much alcohol he just threw up...

"I guess that would be okay. We'll need to make sure everything is clear when we get there, and to keep the windows covered up just in case. It mostly depends on Lance though if you're okay with returning back to the apartment." Shiro answered turning his gaze towards the other man who seemed to be pondering it over.

"It would be nice to go home..m' tired of sleeping on Hunk's couch." Lance mumbled to himself, not noticing the confusing looks the cops sent each other. After thinking it over, Lance decided he'd rather be at home with his soft blankets and relaxing face masks than disturbing Hunk and throwing up some more, possibly crying about what happened all over again in front of him and two cops.

Speaking of cops...

Lance eyed the two men suddenly aware he'd be spending the evening with them alone..in his tiny apartment..in his pjs. He didn't know if this was a win or not but either way he was going to be spending the night with two handsome cops! In his pjs! 

With his confidence returning, Lance got back to his feet with the assistance of Shiro, such a gentleman as always, and wiped off any dirt or debris from his clothes.

"Thanks guys! I just need to grab my things from the studio and we can head to my place after." Lance suggested, smiling a little at the matching nods he received. He sighed relieved before quickly exiting the alleyway that will forever hold dark memories for him, but also good ones since Shiro and Keith once again saved the day.

Man that was a little bit of a bummer though, Lance wasn't typically a 'damsel in distress' usually but the past few weeks have been so unusual. He had to be saved by his crushes more than once, they were probably starting to think he was a full-time job..like most people.

On the way to the car, Lance decided to phone Hunk, explaining the situation as Shiro informed his police pals, a term Lance called them, about David mostly wanting to bring him in for questioning. Even if they didn't catch him tonight or this weekend, David will sure as hell be getting a few visitors from law enforcement at the studio come Monday. That jerk will eventually pay.

With everything cleared up, Lance hopped in the backseat this time, letting Keith have the passenger seat since according to Shiro, Lance should still lay low, which meant hide his face if he can. Thankfully, the tinted windows in the back provided the necessary coverage he needed so he didn't have to hide that much.

With the street lights passing by, late night traffic slowing down along with their usual night crowd, Lance felt exhaustion creeping on him, nearly lulled by the soothing car ride and the sound of Shiro and Keith's voices, quietly discussing something. Lance smiled at the idea of picturing the three of them doing something domestic like simply returning home after a date. Maybe they'd curl up on the couch, watch a movie, something relaxing and peaceful since all three of them were out and about all the time.

Lance felt his eyelids flutter shut as he smiled at the image of the three of them snuggled amongst each other, wishing he could be a part of what they already have with each other.

 

*********** 

 

Lance felt himself drifting off, head filled with fog as they approached a familiar door. 

It looked the same as any other day only now it was bearing yellow crime scene tape over the doorjamb, which Keith thankfully tore down, as if hoping his hurried actions would prevent Lance from seeing it.

Shooting the detective a grateful smile, Lance slid his key inside, hearing the telltale click before holding in a breath as he swung the door open and turned on the light.

It was the same as usual, despite the scattered remains of the rose petals the cleanup crew forgot, as well as dirt tracks from their shoes left behind on his wood floors. Lance huffed, quickly slipping his own shoes off to throw them in the designated shoe corner, which was a pile of his shoes next to an unused shoe rack, before looking around for his broom and dustpan, cursing the cleanup crew for their shitty manners.

'Didn't their mamas teach them to wipe their damn feet before entering someone's home? How did they track all of this in here?' Lance grumbled as he got to work, sweeping all the dirt and petals together, unaware of the gaping and confused expressions belonging to the men he left at the doorway.

Pausing, Lance glanced up just to wave them inside but froze, unsure why they were gazing at him..like that.

"What?" He demanded. Seriously, did he have something stuck in his teeth? Was his hair messed up or did he stumble into some bad lighting? Judging from Keith's expression alone, Lance could only assume he stumbled into the right kind of lighting instead.

He really needed to get back into the selfie game when this stalker business was all over. Keith continued his gaping, doing his spot-on fish impersonation before giving Lance a very flat look.

"You're seriously cleaning up your apartment, which looks like a psycho threw up Valentine's Day all over by the way, after you were just sexually harassed?! What is wrong with you?" Keith stomped towards the frozen dancer, all but yanking the broom from his hand as Lance, who stood there shocked by the other's words, quickly started getting angry. He was ready to swear up a storm at the other, when Shiro quickly stepped in.

"I think what Keith means is, let us help you out a bit. You've been through alot, especially today, we'd like to offer our assistance in any way, shape, or form." Shiro explained, giving Lance a kind smile as he all but yanked the broom from Keith's grip while giving him a not-so-subtle hard nudge to the ribs with his elbow that had Lance smirking and Keith wincing.

"Well..ok but really you're my guests tonight! You shouldn't be cleaning my apartment! My mama would hunt me down if she found out I was being a bad host." Sticking his bottom lip out in a slight pout, he saw the matching stares from both of the cops, tracking the movement and felt an excitable thrill run through him.

"Your secret is safe with us. If you feel that bad, you can buy us breakfast tomorrow morning. For now, lets get this over with so we can go to bed." Keith grabbed the broom back from Shiro, giving him a smirk before turning to sweep up the debris. Shiroglanced around thinking he could go grab a trash bag and collect the remaining rose petals but he stopped when he noticed Lance was fidgeting, wringing his shirt in his hands as he looked around warily.

"Lance?" The man in question popped his head up giving Shiro a curious look till it melted into a look of understanding as he nodded towards the bathroom.

"Sorry, its just-I don't really want to go in there after last time." He spoke, remembering the petals, the tub, and the dreadful picture of him with that heart doodle. The reminder of hat sent chills down Lance's spine, causing him to shiver until a warm presence leaned closer to him, eneveloping him in that warmth. Gentle handscarefully pried his own from his shirt, cradling them as Lance looked up a bit surprised and blushed seeing the tender smile on Shiro's face.

"I'll go take a look and check out the bathroom for you. Don't worry, we'll be here with you tonight and any other time you need us. You're safe with us Lance." He spoke with such conviction Lance could feel his fear evaporating, he felt himself smile back and straightened up, until another hand clasped his left shoulder, tugging him towards another firm body. Lance glanced to his right nearly gulping at how close Keith was.

"If that stalker tries anything or if that dirtbag from earlier comes back, they'll have to get through the two of us." He smiled just as confidant, making the light blush on Lance's face flush crimson from all the attention he was getting. The smile Keith was giving him reminded him of the way he'd look at Shiro from time to time, mostly whenever they were being..coupley with each other...

With a quick nod, Lance thanked the both of them for the thousandth time that evening before the three split up. Lance checked through his belongings, searching for appropriate clothing for the cops to sleep in as Shiro headed for the bathroom. With the other two focused on their tasks, Keith started sweeping once again, his mind piecing together what had happened judging by the state of Lance's apartment and already knowing Lance's situation beforehand. His grip tightened at the idea of the stalker or that other guy from tonight coming here. He didn't know if he'd be able to control his anger like he had earlier, mostly wanting to tear that dancer guy limb from limb for touching-no, thinking of doing something like that to someone like Lance. Keith wished this wasn't happening to someone as great as Lance, mostly wishing he could be happy, having noticed how withdrawn and scared the dancer seemed to be these days, completely unlike his usual self.

Keith focusd back on his task, trying not to stare too long at Lance's gorgeous body as he walked around in short shorts showing off his long legs, thinking about how he'd do everything he could to help this man. How he may not have all the answers he wanted, for himself or for Lance, but he knew without a doubt, he'd do his best to protect this man who practically leaped into his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, there's probably two chapters worth of fluff after this, so to anyone who has had enough of the angst and mystery, there will be some domestic fluff coming up, because if you've read my aus (Smokey the Bear, Hello Officer~) you should realize by now, I am a domestic fluff nut.
> 
> I AM A DOMESTIC FLUFF NUT AND IM PROUD!!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three tidy up Lance's apartment from the mess it had become, Shiro notices a possible clue, and the three reflect on how infatuated they are with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I'm back, I still have a few problems going on, but at least my laptop and car are no longer issues! Thanks for all the supportive comments! It's good to see some of that positivity after the mess season 8 left us(sorry to anyone who liked the season, there were some characterization and development issues for me, plus I miss Allura). I know it wasn't the last season we deserved and felt kinda blah, but thankfully that's what fanfiction is for!
> 
> Get ready for some domestic fluff soon!

As Shiro stepped into the dimly-lit bathroom, he couldn't shake the light butterflies flapping around inside his stomach that a certain dancer and his boyfriend had caused. 

He sighed, scolding himself inwardly, he needed to put aside his feelings for Lance for the night, after all, the man was just attacked not that long ago! Shiro leaned back against the door, listening to the murmurs from the others. He could hear Keith talking to Lance, although their low voices made it hard to discern what they were discussing. His mind was on other things though, mainly the few petals still scattered around the still full bathtub.

Shiro quickly drained the tub, shaking his head that the cleanup crew didn't do it themselves. As he glanced around, trying to see what else needed to be cleaned up, his eyes spotted a magazine sticking out of the wastebasket, it looked to be some trashy celebrity gossip crap that never appealed to Shiro, but what did catch his attention was the photo the magazine was already opened to. Some advertisement that had Lance featured on it.

Eyes wide, Shiro quickly slid some gloves on before he pulled it out. Curious, wondering if this had been here before the cleanup crew, or possibly another clue left behind by the stalker. His eyes scanned over the glossy page, Lance was in the center, his ad taking up two whole pages, reclined back on some chaise with soft looking blankets strewn over the furniture and the floor. There were grey curtains billowing in the background as Lance looked off camera, one hand to his highlighted forehead, the other dangling above one of the blankets, his fingers teasingly so close to touching the soft cloth. His eyes were narrowed into slits, although the dark navy blues still shined through, glimmering like sapphires.

Shiro stopped to gaze at those eyes, something eerily familiar about them, but ultimately shrugged it off.

He was with Lance right now, he's seen his eyes dozens of times. His eyes focused more on Lance's clothes, or rather lack of, compared to the other magazine photo of Lance, this one seemed even less modest, despite the fact Lance was more covered up.

He was wearing a soft looking gray sweater that had ridden up, to look like he was in restless sleep. He was showing off some more of his dark skin of his torso than the last photo, teasing the viewer with soft jeans worn so low, almost inviting for someone to step in the photo and yank them off completely.

Shiro shook his head, giving a warning glance to his nether regions that now was not the time for those images, given the serious situation and that Lance was regrettably, just a friend.

He drooped a bit, gazing at that relaxed, sleepy face wondering if Lance also looked like this when he slept. He snorted thinking probably not, most photos were staged and according to their capitalist industry, sex sells so of course they'd want Lance posing similar to that of a porn star. Shiro was a bit surprised Lance didn't have anymore stalkers than just the one. Frowning, Shiro turned towards the door, ready to ask Lance if he was the one who threw this magazine away, if not, he had some questions for the cleanup crew…

As he joined the other two, he noticed that the room was now dirt and petal free. He was unsure how long he had spent gazing at Lance's photo like a creep, as Keith was now relaxing on the couch watching as Lance raised himself up to his tiptoes, wearing those traditional ballet slippers and showing off some kind of dance move Keith had obviously asked to see, if his blushing cheeks were any indication.

"This is the pointe technique you're referring to. It's the most well-known move but it's mostly performed by women. Although, men can do it too!" Lance taught as he bent one leg to form a triangle before spinning in a slow circle, not missing Keith's awed look. Shiro watched as well, mostly to get a good look at Lance in general, who looked gorgeous.

Lance was now dressed in pajamas, a large t-shirt and a pair of very short shorts, accentuating his long legs. He was also currently taking off his pointe shoes, undoing the ribbons when Shiro realized there was soft music playing, no lyrics, just the gentle plucking of strings from a guitar.

"Setting the mood huh?" Shiro joked then promptly wanted to kick himself. Lance paused in his task, giving him a confused look before blushing bright as a tomato as he glanced back and forth between Keith and Shiro.

"I-I uh..." Lance blubbered not sure what to say to that inclination. Shiro merely gave him a teasing smile as he came up to him and winked conspiratorially.

"I gotta tell you, Keith doesn't woo me like this anymore." Shiro teased, chuckling as Keith gave him a flat look.

"Because you're always busy asshole." He muttered, getting up from the couch and heading towards them. His frown melted into a smile as he met Shiro's warm gaze as Lance just stood there frozen, unsure what was going on until he spotted the magazine in Shiro's hands.

"Hey! Whatcha' got there?" He asked, hoping to switch the topic. He was already flustered enough in front of these two men, he wouldn't let it go any further tonight. 'Oh god, please don't let me pop a boner in front of these two,' Lance prayed.

Shiro held up the ad, a look of amusement all over his face as Lance felt his cheeks warming even more, his plan backfiring. He almost fell off his couch when Keith whistled low in appreciation, leaning in to inspect the ad closer, much to Lance's excitement and mortification.

"When you said you were a model, I figured you did stock photo shit, not...actual modeling." He gazed, eyes roving over every detail the image offered. Like Shiro, his eyes instantly were captured by the blue gems glittering back at him, feeling a weird familiarity come over him until Lance coughed awkwardly, snatching the magazine out of his grip.

"Of course it's real modeling! What? You think I wouldn't make a great model?" Lance asked challenging, placing his hands on his hips and doing his signature pout that had Shiro chuckling at Keith's misfortune as the latter scrambled for an answer.

"No! I uh-I just thought-" Shiro turned away, shaking his head. He sat down on the couch, sighing as he felt the day's troubles recede as he finally got comfy. As he let the other's squabbling fade out, waiting once again to bring up the magazine, Shiro was taking in another glance round the room, mostly re-imagining the rose petals and the candles when his eyes drifted towards Lance's dance bag only half unzipped. Of course, Shiro was never one to pry unless it was related to police business, but when he spotted a solid white envelope sticking out of the bag, he grew a little suspicious.

"Lance? Is that another letter?" He asked, turning around with another question on the edge of his lips, but he paused when he spotted the nervous fidgeting Lance was doing again. Lance stood there, biting his lip as he gazed upon the letter he had stashed away.

"... Yes." He finally admitted. Shiro raised his eyebrow before turning towards the offending paper and reached for it, pausing just before grabbing it.

"May I?" He asked, with Lance's nod he pulled it out of the bag and pulled the paper out, giving the note a good read through before scoffing quietly to himself.

"Was this also under your door?" Shiro asked, handing it to Keith who gave Lance a silent look asking for permission who nodded his approval again as he answered, "No, this was stuffed in my bag at the studio. Someone had gotten into my locker where I keep my things and must've put it there...while I...was…" Lance paused, realizing now just how close his stalker was to him, considering he had just been a few rooms down practicing while some obsessed maniac was nearby… He had probably still been in the locker room, watching Lance read it, waiting for his moment to strike with Lance all alone and vulnerable...

"Lance?" Lance blinked, he was now sitting beside Shiro on the couch, who was perched right on the edge of the seat, concern written all over his face as he lightly touched Lance's arm, bringing him back to reality. Keith was hunched over the couch behind them, he still had the letter gripped in his hand but his focus was on Lance as well.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Lance rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Shiro only frowned as he gently took Lance's hand in his.

"I didn't say anything, Keith was reading the letter and you just zoned out." He explained, keeping his hold gentle and reassuring as Lance sighed.

"Sorry, I'm kinda distracted right now." Lance lowly murmured, which Shiro shook his head.

"Don't apologize, none of this is your fault Lance. Is this the only other letter this person sent you?" Shiro asked turning to ask for the letter when Keith automatically handed it over, having looked through it himself. Lance nodded,

"Yeah, I think it's the second stanza to the poem. The first letter must have only been the beginning half since this one seems to continue on where the first one left off." Lance wondered. He really hoped this was the end of the poem as well.

"Where is the first letter?" Keith asked, eyebrows furrowed which meant his detective skills were in full gear.

"In evidence at the precinct. I wrote it all down here." Shiro pulled out a small slip of paper, unfolding it before handing it to Keith. Lance glanced between the two of them, a little mystified at their readiness to jump into discussing this, like the detectives he watched on TV sometimes. As he waited for Keith to finish reading the first poem, Lance got up to turn off the music, feeling the day's events finally get to him as he stretched languidly, looking longingly towards his very comfortable, fluffy bed. Normally he'd be willing to stay up and chat with two extremely gorgeous men on a Friday night but right now, he wanted to be a million miles away at dreamland. 

"I'm sorry for being rude Lance. I'm so used to Keith keeping me up, I forget other people actually sleep at a normal hour." Shiro stood up, placing the letter and the note on the coffee table, as Keith got up as well, giving the taller man a glare.

"You instigate half those nights, don't lie. C'mon Lance." Keith tugged Lance away, missing the blush forming on the dancer's cheeks from the contact. Shiro chuckled, watching them both fondly as Lance began showing Keith the nightclothes he picked out for him. He smiled, reveling in the domestic feel this scene brought on. He could imagine many evenings, much earlier than four am of course, spent in each other's company, getting ready for bed, relaxing in the pleasant atmosphere...where there wasn't a dangerous killer on the loose and Lance wasn't the target of some obsessive fan.

Shiro turned back to the papers on the table, eyeing the last two lines of the second stanza. Instead of an icy chill creeping along his spine, he felt only anger and fear regarding Lance's well-being. True, he shouldn't be having such strong feelings towards someone he'd only met a few weeks ago by chance, but Lance was different somehow. It was like that first time he got to know Keith, or rather the first time he developed feelings for Keith.

Shaking his head, Shiro turned back to watch the two men again, laughing in spite of himself at seeing the too long pajama pants and long sleeve t-shirt hanging off Keith's frame, grouchy expression as normal.

"Well don't you look comfy." Shiro stated, smirking as Keith huffed, a few strands of hair flying out of his eyes.

"I told him I usually sleep in my underwear or nude, and he just threw this at me before hiding in the bathroom!" Keith complained, waving his arms as Shiro delightedly watched the loose fabric sleeves flop about, similar to one of those inflatable tube men at car dealerships. Shiro glanced at the closed bathroom door before facing Keith again giving him a questioning gaze as Keith looked away, blushing slightly.

"Too strong?" He offered, shrugging as Shiro nodded his head.

"Too strong." He agreed before wandering over to the bathroom door and knocking gently.

"Lance? You alright in there?" Right as Shiro asked, the door popped open, revealing Lance in a long, blue robe sadly covering up those gorgeous gams of his...with his face covered in a bright green goop?

"Uhh?" Shiro pointed questioningly towards his own face, silently asking as Keith snorted in the background. Lance crossed his arms, giving them both a scrutinizing look.

"What? You've never seen someone do their skin care regime before? Actually, with your pores Mullet, I can believe that." Lance retracted, as Keith touched his own face confused. Shiro, sensing a future bickering match coming up, quickly switched topics; "So, bedtime anyone?"

The other two grumbled in defeat, their slow pace a clear sign they were more than ready to 'hit the hay' as Lance pulled a spare quilt from his bed, handing it to Shiro. "I know you're planning on keeping watch, but if you do fall asleep I won't get mad. Best to make sure you get some good rest in at least." Lance smiled, as Shiro wordlessly took the blanket.

"Thank you." He smiled which brought a small blush to Lance's cheeks.

"So, where am I sleeping then?" Keith asked, crossing his arms as Lance spun around, still flustered from Shiro's smile.

"Uh, there's room on my bed if that's not too weird for you?" Lance asked blushing once more that had Keith nearly shouting yes immediately.

"Well I mean, I don't want to be all up in your space, I can just bunk with Shiro." Keith suggested. They both turned towards the aforementioned cop who was already sitting on the couch, blanket thrown over his lap, devoid of his jacket and boots.

"Sorry Keith, the couch is kinda tiny. Just take the bed with Lance, it'll be fine." Shiro teased, sending Keith a bemused smirk while Lance had already ducked out of the way, pulling back the blankets and sheets to prepare the bed, blissfully unaware of Keith flipping Shiro the bird.

"Yeah sorry about that, I don't have much room for stuff, let alone a sleeper sofa. I try to make do with what space I have." Lance explained while fluffing a pillow for Keith. He quickly tossed one to Shiro as well, who caught it as Keith moved towards Lance.

"No worries. I almost feel a little bad intruding on you now honestly." Keith stated heading over to the bed, his arm brushing against Lance's, leaving electric sparks buzzing between them. Keith glanced over at Lance, wondering if he also felt the sparks, when he paused, completely absorbed by the intensity of Lance's blue eyes. 

Huh, he never noticed how bright they were. 

Lance waved him off with a laugh, mostly to put some distance between them, and to settle his rapidly beating heart.

"Nah, don't worry about it! I'd rather have company than be here alone." Lance's statement hung in the air, reminding all three of them exactly why they were having this little sleepover to begin with. The air was quiet after that, not tense but just a solemn reminder that whoever was out there to get Lance was still at large. With goodnights all around, Shiro settled into his position on the couch, turning the TV on and switching the audio to mute and clicking the subtitles on, while Lance got cozy under the covers, his body releasing all tension as he melted into the sheets and blankets. Keith however remained stiff as a board. He knew he had an awful habit of clinging in his sleep. Shiro had often told him how cute it was, waking up to see and feel Keith's koala arms around him, refusing to break their grip. It was always something embarrassing about himself he didn't like sharing and now as he laid next to Lance in his very soft, very warm bed, Keith could only predict his impending doom as Lance rolled over, looking him over.

"Hey, so I generally sleep with ear phones in and an eye mask. The music won't bother you will it?" He asked as Keith shook his head.

"You're fine." 'As hell,' he thought, face heating up as Lance rolled back over, eye mask and headphones on and ready to sleep the day, or rather year, away. Keith watched his new friend slip closer and closer to dreamland, body slowly rising and deflating with even breaths until Lance was completely asleep, little snores making themselves known as Keith felt his own eyes droop.

"Good night, Lance." Keith whispered, fingers grazing down Lance's back in longing, until he turned away facing towards Shiro, who sat there focused on the words to the show he was watching. Keith scoffed, seeing it was the History channel which prompted Shiro to glance back at the sound.

Seeing it was Keith, still awake, Shiro gave him a smile, mouthing, "Good night, love you," to Keith before his eyes trailed over Lance's sleeping form, a look of fondness settling over his features before resuming his nerdy activity. Keith gazed at him, watching his features distort and the objects in the room misshapen til his eyes were nearly closed, wishing Shiro was in the bed with them before his slip into dreamland was interrupted by a sudden light.His gaze snapped towards the windows, the light from the courtyard shining through the thin fabric of the curtains. Earlier when he had seen Lance practice his moves from his own apartment, he almost chuckled at how he had been so sure he wouldn't run into the flexible, handsome neighbor who was currently sleeping next to him. Funny how fate worked right?

As his thoughts swirled sluggishly, his mind becoming foggy as sleep creeped upon him once again, lights from higher above in the courtyard flickered on switching Keith's brain to alert mode as he spotted the same penthouse weeks ago with its bright lights shining through the fabric. A shadowy figure emerged from the lights, possibly standing in front of the windows and looking down into the courtyard again. Keith shivered, an uncanny apprehension towards this figure, suddenly wondering if this person could see through the curtains into the apartment. As Keith felt his eyelids droop for the final time, images of figures moving through the shadows, familiar cries for help, and sinister laughs haunted his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Shiro!! You forgot to ask about the magazine! ;) Also kudos to our oblivious officers who stare at those creepy eyes the killer leaves behind everyday and then completely miss a major clue when it's making sex eyes at them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our killer strikes again, this time a little too personal and our favorite trio share a pleasant morning together before the storm approaches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** PLEASE READ****
> 
> So I just want to announce a trigger warning just in case; this next scene with the killer is extremely graphic and full of violence and gore. Please do not read if you have a sensitive stomach, or do not like reading about killing. I may be overestimating my writing skills a little but I'd rather ya'll stay safe than sorry. There will be mentions of what happened to the body in other chapters, so you won't completely miss anything this is just an extra precaution. So if you read it and get mad and leave a comment, I will just shrug and say I warned you. You as a reader, are in charge of the content you see/read. It is not my fault if you choose to ignore the warnings.
> 
> For those who skip the scene you can start where our heros left off after the first ****** with 'Keith wakes up...'  
> Thanks for being patient, hope ya'll enjoy!

He walked with quick strides down the empty street, sticking to darkened corners and busted street lamps, all these conveniences adding to his element of surprise. He wasn't originally going hunting tonight, but he had stumbled upon a perfect prey, and what better prey than a too cocky predator?

There he was. Standing by a street corner, loudly laughing and drinking with a few people. How dare he act so carefree and rapturous when minutes ago he was touching _him_ , kissing _him_ , assaulting _him_ of all people! That simply won't do.

His blood will spill for so much as even thinking about doing such a shameful act on _him_!

He waited as his prey left their friends behind, waving them off as he continued down his path, one that luckily had darker, narrow alleys for him to hide in. He watched his victim stumble about, not completely wasted which was great for him, because what he was about to do to this man, he wanted him to be awake and completely aware of every single stroke and jab of his sharp knife.

Silent as a fox, he followed the man, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. His moment came when the man he was following paused to bend over, fiddling with his jacket apparently and giving the panther enough time to strike.

With all the strength he could channel from his anger, he pushed the man closer to the entrance of an alley, almost resembling what he did to his beloved earlier that evening. The man's breath was knocked out from his lungs, giving his attacker enough time to whip out his knife and slash the other across the throat, blood came steadily dripping down his chest and drenching his shirt, the man giving weak, hoarse gasps as he tried to call for help. The man holding him, shoved him further into the dark alleyway, amongst some trash bags and a dumpster where he collapsed, his legs too weak and dizzy to remain standing. Terrified, he clutched his bleeding throat, glancing up in fear and desperation as his angel of death approached, small knife glimmering in the low light with dark maroon dripping off the end.

"Ple-please." he choked out, coughing again with spurts of blood dribbling from his mouth to join the few streams staining his chin and neck.

The killer watched his prey beg, basking in the fear and guttural whimpers he made. Pathetic really.

Shaking his head, he held up the small knife, relishing in the horror that overcame his victim's face before advancing on him and repeatedly stabbing him in the abdomen, twisting the knife just a bit into the jagged flesh as he lifted his hand, loving the grunts and whines of pain the man underneath him was making. Each jerk and slip of his knife sent him into a childish glee, watching the blood spatter and pool in his victim's body, drenching the clothing, staining them as blood flowed like a waterfall. The man begged for him to stop, or tried to. He had enough of his annoying groveling so with a flick of his wrist, he made another slash to his throat, the victim sputtered, as more blood came gushing out, his vocal cords now too destroyed for him to hardly make a sound.

Perfect.

The man straightened up above him, shoulders once again loose and carefree as his outrage simmered down enough for him to gaze into his victim's pleading eyes. With a scoff, he took his soaked knife, running the wet metal against his chin, delighted by the little flinches he received while removing the victim's pants. He ran the knife lower and lower, enjoying the shivers from his victim till it was resting just above the man's cock, lightly tracing his balls and smoothly running it along his shaft. His victim became more vocal, or tried to as he shook his head, pleading for the other not to go through with this but ultimately it was pointless. The man above lowered himself till he was right above his victim's face, smiling brightly as he spoke,

“So begging and pleading is a concept you now understand when its you who is hurt. Filthy scum.” He spat and with careful strokes, began sawing through the sensitive tissue and muscle, using his body weight to hold the other down as his body spasmed from the overwhelming pain. His silent screams and dull whimpers left his throat burning even more, fresh blood spilling from the open wound mixing with the blood pooling underneath his body, mixing on the dirty concrete. 

Once he was done, the victim's bloody appendage flopped uselessly in his hand, he grabbed a hold of his victim's mouth forcing it open, although with the man so weak underneath him it wasn't a challenge at all, and shoved his dick into his mouth, stuffing it as far as it will go, ignoring the man's weak attempts to move his head away.

“Since you wanted it so bad, why don't you suck your own dick?” The man laughed holding tight onto his knife as he watched his prey weakly scramble for leverage, fingernails scraping against the dirt as the killer began stabbing repeatedly into the man's chest. Each stroke bringing forth a new groan over and over until the victim was so numb from it. The killer glanced down, seeing his victim was no longer crying or moving, eyes already dull and lifeless. He chuckled darkly, a bit disappointed his fun was over but there was still one thing left to do.

 He pulled out his handy little tool holster he brought, of course instead of the traditional handy man tools, it was filled with his standard weapons for mutilating and his favorite activity of all, enucleation. Grinning, he fingered the gleaming butcher knife, a fitting touch really considering the moniker the media nicknamed him with. With a force so quick and powerful, he made the first hack, blade to skin.

The night continued on, late downtown noises filling the night air, drowning out the poor man's guttural screams.

***********

 

Keith felt himself waking up slowly but groaned as he rolled over and buried himself in the pillows and blankets. This mattress was softer than any he's slept on before, certainly not like the shitty air mattress he uses, and with all the blankets and pillows around him contributing to that softness, he felt like he was laying on a cloud. As his mind was growing foggy with sleep he could hear low voices talking just a few feet away however it wasn't disrupting at all. He did catch a whiff of something suspiciously smelling like bacon, causing him to sit up real fast as he looked around wide-eyed in the apartment for the source.

He glanced towards the kitchen area, where his nose caught the aroma wafting from, as well as where Lance and Shiro were, neither having noticed Keith was up yet as they continued to talk. Lance was busy stirring that delicious smell in the pan as Shiro smiled back at him, taking a sip of what Keith guessed was coffee, while he leaned against the counter. Keith watched the two of them, a small smile breaching his face as he wondered if it would feel like this everyday if Lance were part of their relationship. It was such a blissful, domestic wave of emotion that he allowed himself to bask in. Maybe once this was all over and done with, they could ask Lance out properly and after a decent waiting period. Hopefully he'd accept and join their relationship. Polyamorous relationships weren't completely unheard-of in the city, and given Lance was involved in the arts and told them his sexual orientation already, maybe they wouldn't have to do much convincing on their part.

However, with the way Shiro was flushing at Lance's incomprehensible words, Keith knew they'd be asking a lot sooner than planned and right now, with the killer/stalker combo out there, it just wasn't the right time.

No matter how badly they wanted to.

With an exaggerated groan as he stretched, Keith caught the attention of Shiro and Lance, calling out a brief, "Morning," before collapsing against the sheets in a sigh. Lance giggled watching the tough, grumpy detective Keith sigh dreamily into his constellation themed bedding, reminding him of a lazy tom cat stretching in the sun. Shiro grabbed another small coffee mug from the cabinet where Lance had showed him, pouring a cup for Keith before heading over to his sleepy boyfriend, handing the drink over easily as he pecked a kiss to his forehead. "Morning. Sleep well?" Keith nodded as he yawned, he took a tentative sip of his coffee before his eyes shot wide open, feeling more awake than ever.

"Wow! That is some coffee. Also, yes, this is probably the softest bed I've ever slept on." Keith stated before chugging more of that liquid black gold before Shiro could stop him.

"Well you do sleep on an air mattress on the floor… Also, this coffee is from Cuba, that's probably why it tastes different from what you're used to." Shiro answered snorting as he watched Keith's expression turn into a grimace as Lance whirled around with a spatula aimed at Keith.

"You sleep on an air mattress?!" He accused, eyes wide with disbelief as Shiro chuckled, nodding his head which had Keith grumbling.

"I just haven't set up my bed yet. I've been busy!"

"How long have you lived like this?" Lance asked, ignoring the first answer as he turned back around to continue stirring whatever was in the pan.

"... Three months?" He said hesitantly only to get a face full of fabric and stuffing when Lance quickly lobbed one of the couch throw pillows at him.

"Three months? Keith! You need a bed! A proper bed!" Lance threatened him with the spatula again, looking every bit hilarious as he was threatening right then until he turned to threaten Shiro with the utensil as well.

"Shiro! How could you let this happen? I thought out of the two of you, you'd at least be the sensible one here!"

"I promise I've tried my best!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Keith interrogated, tossing the pillow to the side as he got up, the long pant legs on his pajama bottoms nearly tripping him in his haste. Lance merely laughed, plating what looks like eggs and hash browns before turning back towards Keith.

"Chill Officer Mullet. Drink your coffee, it's too early for fighting." Lance advised, giving Keith such a beautiful smile that had crimson blooming across his cheeks at the sight.

"Fine, I will! Only cause this is fantastic coffee!" Keith pointedly took another sip without breaking eye contact and nearly moaned as the strong drink woke him up further. He could use some of this stuff every day before going to work.

"Thanks! Some of my family back in Cuba run a cafe. Sometimes they send me care packages." Lance explained. Plating the bacon beside the eggs and hash browns, he turned the oven off and presented the plates to the two cops.

"Anyways, enjoy! I know you suggested I buy you two breakfast, but I figured making it would be better." Lance explained as the two men eagerly took their plates, Keith already shoving his face full of food as Shiro politely thanked Lance, grimacing at Keith's poor table manners. Lance giggled, watching the two of them, feeling a fondness swell up within him. It was nice to share breakfast with others who enjoyed his cooking. Hunk was all he had when they sometimes brunched and typically he would do the cooking. Slipping on an oven mitt, Lance hummed a wonderful tune to himself as he pulled out the pastelitos he also made, his mouth watering at the sight of the delicate puff pastries. A recipe his Mama had promised was guaranteed to help win a man's heart, or in his case two.

"Holy shit, what are those?" Keith asked in complete awe. Lance can cook and bake? What can't this amazing man do, Keith wondered, chomping down on his bacon deep in thought as Shiro peered around Lance to get a good look.

"Wow, those do look amazing." He stated, his stomach growling in want despite the heaping plate he still hadn't finished. Lance quickly grabbed some napkins, wrapping two pastelitos in each before handing them over to the cops, who eagerly thanked him before taking a bite. Lance watched as their eyes both widened as the flavor of cream cheese and guava hit them.

"Wow."

"Holy shit, this is good." Lance beamed at the praise, he knew they would be delicious, his Mama's recipe had won countless awards in baking competitions, and ensured each of her children had learned the recipe as well.

"They're pastelitos, with guava and cream cheese filling. My Mama taught me how to make them. I prefer the sweeter ones, something to have with my coffee in the mornings, but you can also make them savory too." Lance explained. Shiro nodded along, fascinated that such a small puff pastry could pack so much flavor. No more cheese danish for him.

"Does your mom happen to be God or something because these are heavenly." Keith dug into the other one, having finished the first one already. Lance blushed feeling pride swell in him that these two loved his cooking and his Mama's prized pastry. He could already imagine domestic life with these two; Lance sleepy but content as he sipped his morning coffee, the other two sitting next to him, eating the pastelitos with their coffee as they talked about their agenda for the day, or something funny that happened in their dreams. Lance wanted that fantasy to become reality so badly.

"Lance?" Lance blinked, his focus going back to Shiro who had one brow raised slightly in concern as Keith eyed him curiously, slowly finishing off the rest of his food.

"Sorry got spacey there for a sec. I'm fine though! Nothing to worry about!" Lance smiled as he grabbed his own coffee and his standard turkey sausage and eggs; his first big meal of the day other than dinner time.

"Is that what you're eating?" Keith asked frowning, wondering how Lance went from bacon and scrambled eggs to turkey sausage and plain egg whites.

"Yeah this is what I usually eat, sometimes I'll switch it up with oatmeal if I'm in a hurry. As a professional dancer, I have diet restrictions to help keep me in shape; especially when performance season comes then I have to keep up the maintenance until it's at its peak in time for the show. On those days I usually eat lunch but most of the time, my only meals of the day are breakfast and dinner. During the day if I’m hungry, I usually eat a light snack." Lance explained taking a sip of his coffee, humming as the caffeine slowly woke him up, unaware of the stunned looks the others gave him.

"Wow, I always heard ballet could take a toll on the human body. I never realized how much dancers have to cut back on just to dance the way they do." Shiro admitted as Lance nodded. He got up, searching through a pile of magazines next to the couch much to the curiosity of the two cops.

Making an "Aha" noise, Lance pulled out one magazine, some type of dancer's subscription from the looks of it as Lance flipped through the pages.

"Yep! Honestly it's because we restrict ourselves so much and then ease more into our diets around performance season, it's why we can achieve moves like this," Lance held the book up, showing both Shiro and Keith a photo of one dancer posed, his figure caught in a mid-action pose with his legs straight, toes pointed down and arms bent by his sides. Something in Keith's brain stirred, frowning as he gazed at the photo, not sure why that image looked so familiar, considering Keith had never seen or studied anything related to ballet.

"What is that position called?" He asked curious.

"This is a soubresaut. You start in fifth position, basically the way he looks, only his feet are flat on the ground, then you jump and keep the same foot in front of the other, which, in our terms, means landing in fifth position. You see a lot of this move in ballet performances, it can be done in place, or we travel the stage using this position." Lance explained, hoping he was making sense as Keith slowly nodded.

"Are there anymore photos in there?" He asked curious to which Lance responded with an enthusiastic yeah, quickly flipping through pages and showing him another photo, this time of a female dancer balanced on one leg, the other bent at the knee to rest her foot just above her knee cap.

Keith swiped the magazine from Lance's hands, intense deja vu coursing through his body, ignoring Lance's "Rude!" as Shiro asked Keith what was wrong.

"This looks really familiar, like I've seen it before, but I-I can't remember where." Keith answered slowly, eyes drifting across the glossy page, staring at the frozen expression the dancer had, her solemn gaze bringing chills to Keith's body, goosebumps popping up along the length of his arms.

"Hmm, did you see a movie with ballet in it? Like Barbie and the Nutcracker?" Lance asked with both cops turning to give him matching expressions of bewilderment, Lance rolled his eyes as he explained.

"What? I grew up with two older sisters and I have a niece! I'm allowed to know what that is!" He defended, arms crossing as Shiro stifled a snort.

"No ones judging you," He started before Keith interrupted, "I was."

"Keith… Anyways, like Lance suggested, it's possible you've seen it through a movie or some form of media." Shiro stated as Keith frowned, his eyes raking over the glossy image again as he thought.

"Maybe… This feels different though." He stated, tossing the magazine back to Lance who caught it in a huff.

"Well you have good instincts. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon." Shiro smiled, drawing a slow, appreciative one out of Keith who slowly locked fingers with the other. Lance glanced away not wanting to intrude on their private moment, unaware of the bashful, knowing looks sent his way as the two men parted. Shiro coughed, signaling they were done as he stood up clutching his dirty dishes and giving Lance’s confused look a soft smile. “I thought it would only be fair if Keith and I did the dishes since you cooked this wonderful meal for us.” Lance shook his head, a protest forming when Keith reached out a hand to stop him.

“It’s useless to argue with him once his mind’s all set. He’s stubbornly polite like that.” Keith quipped, mouth twisting into a teasing smirk as Shiro spun around, Lance’s frilly blue apron tied on as he threatened Keith with a dish sponge.

“That’s rich coming from you. Now get over here and scrub these dishes.” With an eye roll, Keith left Lance at his small table as he joined Shiro, sneaking a teasing pinch to his buttocks that had Shiro jumping before whacking him with a dish towel. Their antics left Lance amused, shaking his head, deciding even if he couldn’t fulfill his wish of being with either of these two men, or both which he preferred, becoming friends with them was certainly one of the best things that's ever happened to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that was decent, honestly I scared myself a little when I wrote this killing scene. Didn't know I was capable of such violence hehe. Thanks again for reading, let me know in the comments if you enjoyed, trying to pick back up on the writing after a month of not having my laptop on hand. 
> 
> Not sure when the next chapter will be out, I officially start school next week which I'm very excited about to return to school. I do hope to end this soon though! So I'm estimating maybe around 16-17 chapters, that includes the epilogue. Don't quote me on that though.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our cops do a little investigating when they're called to a crime scene while Lance gets some unfortunate news as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So school has finally happened, it feels good to be doing something with my life, or taking steps to do something with my life haha. Anyways I've been sitting on this chapter and the next few cuz it mostly involves alot of cop jargon which I'm not good at but I also hate not updating when a chapter is clearly finished and not going anywhere editing wise so here you go? I guess??

“Is this the right place?”

“Yep, the artist lives here apparently.”

Keith nodded his head, staring up at the grey toned building, housing many studio apartments that tended to attract the college crowd. Keith sniffed the air, automatically detecting the scent of a certain herb confirming his thoughts.

“There’s a shit ton of college kids here alright. Shiro don’t stand like that, your posture is literally screaming ‘I’m a cop’ right now.”

“You’re no better yourself! Your arms are crossed and you're scowling!”

“I’m always scowling!”

“Uh, excuse me?” Both men jumped back, obviously startled by the newcomer, especially at the iguana chilling on the man's shoulder.

“Can I help you guys? You look lost.” The man stated, gaze struggling to concentrate on the two men with his eyes looking noticeably red, making his blue eyes pop more. There was also a distinct odor, the smell of a certain recreational herb, wafting off him that had Shiro cringing as Keith glared.

“Yes actually, what floor is apartment 6F located?” Shiro asked professional as ever as the guy lifted a finger pointing towards the fourth floor.

“Just take a right at the stairwell, four doors from your left. You looking to buy or something?” He asked earning a confused look from Shiro and an exaggerated huff from Keith.

“That’s none of your business. Bye.” Keith started, wandering towards the stairs but the man caught his wrist just before he could get away.

“So how much does this information mean to you guys?” He drawled, lightly stroking his iguana along the side of its face as Shiro continued to look more and more confused.

“How much? Are you trying to get us to pay you?” The man nodded, casually waiting for them to hand over some cash as Keith spoke up, “You want us to pay you for the information that you already gave us?” This man was batshit looney! Realizing his error, the man paused his iguana stroking, eyes opening wide in realization as Shiro sighed, seemingly unamused.

“I’ll tell you what, I won’t call my squad on you, if you just leave. Right now.” Shiro ordered, the man nodding his head immediately. He shuffled further away down the street until they couldn’t see him anymore when Keith patted Shiro’s shoulder.

“Good start to our undercover investigation.” He stated as Shiro turned to face him, a grin splitting across his face.

“He was pretty stoned wasn’t he? When do you think he’ll realize marijuana is legal and has been for years now?” He asked, a snort escaping his lips as Keith laced their fingers together, tugging him towards the steps.

“Depends on how far gone he is.” With a chuckle, Shiro tightened his grip on Keith's hand, following after his boyfriend as they ascended the stairs.

 

                                                                                              ************

 

"So you've never seen your commissioner in person?" Shiro asked, brow furrowed as Keith glanced through the portfolio belonging to the young artist they were speaking to. After studying the poems closely, Keith had noticed a watermarked sign in the bottom corner, some initials within a swirly circle. A simple Google search for these initials paired with calligraphist artist in the area, and they had quickly found their person.

"Nope. Everyone who commissions me mostly does it online through my Patreon account. I have the dude's email address if you'd like it." The girl answered, hugging her arms to her herself, obviously uncomfortable with two cops at her door. Shiro nodded, glad there was something they learned from this trip.

"Yes, thank you. Did the person ever pick up the letters themselves?"

"No thats another thing, he was really weird. He paid me through some prepaid card for one thing. Had to have many awkward conversations with the person about why that typically wasn't accepted, given there couldn't have been anything on them and I would've been screwed over. Anyways, it was also some lackey of this guy who picked them up, I know this because when I asked if she was the one who commissioned me, she said she worked for him and was told to pick up the letters and deliver them to him personally." Shiro nodded storing all that info away as Keith sat up, deciding to join the conversation.

"Did the woman who picked up the letters ever act odd or strange in any way?" Keith asked, a bit annoyed this was starting to sound like a dead end already as the girl shook her head.

"No, the only weird thing regarding this commission was mostly having to write those creepy poems. No disrespect to the writer behind them, but I was a little creeped out by the language they chose to use." She explained as Keith sighed.

"Oh and of course there was the fact the commissioner paid way more than I charged them for. I thought it was a little odd, given how these letters didn't take up too much time or material but since I have rent due and a thousand other things due I needed the money and just didn't question it." That caught Shiro's attention right away, as well as Keith's, they both narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

"This person paid you double the amount they owed you?"

"This guy paid me triple." Their eyes widened in disbelief at that.

"Jesus, it sounds like hush money." Keith retorted, unable to keep the amazement out of his voice which had the girl widening her eyes, now completely freaked out.

"I didn't just inadvertently hurt someone did I?!" She asked, as Shiro held out his hand to calm her.

"No, I'm sorry sometimes my partner makes bad word choices. Do you have a price list we could see? I'd like to get an estimate on how much this commissioner paid." Shiro asked, giving Keith a stern glare that had Keith shrugging in response as the girl dug through a small pile of papers.

"I actually have his receipt right here printed out. Here's my price list as well." She handed both papers over, allowing Shiro to glance them over, his eyes widening at the amount paid, "Wow."

"Shiro let me see." He handed Keith the paper, watching as he scanned the numbers until his eyes rested on that whopping total.

"Christ, that's...a lot." Keith stated bluntly much to the artist's disapproval.

"Yeah..so as you can see, the patron paid me way more than was due but when I emailed them about the mistake, they said it wasn't a mistake, it was for a 'job well done' and told me to let it be, they wouldn't take it back. At the time I was happy about it, but I felt really guilty and then you guys showed up so now I'm a little freaked out." She breathed shakily, warily eyeing the piece of paper.

"Do you mind if I get a copy of this, it could help our case actually."

"You can keep that one, I have it saved on my computer.You don't think it has something to do with the Blue-Eyed Butcher do you? The poem talked about blue eyes and when you two showed up I got a little worried that it had something to do with the killer." Keith froze instantly, his mind flashing back to several corpses tied to that chilling monster. God, the last thing he wanted to think about was Lance's stalker being related to the Blue-Eyed Butcher case, Lance was in enough shit already.

"No, nothing like that ma'm. Thank you for all your help." Shiro thanked quickly, obviously wanting to get out of there, in case she tried to inquire more info about the Butcher case, like most morbidly curious civilians. After that, the two went on their way, thanking the nice woman for all her help before heading down the street in the car, thinking over what she said.

"Shiro you don't think-"

"No, of course not. I mean, it's just a coincidence is all. Just because Lance has blue eyes doesn't mean its connected to the Butcher. I mean, you've said it yourself Keith, the killer isn't even targeting people with blue eyes. That was the media twisting the facts like usual." Shiro stated matter of factly that had Keith sinking into the passenger seat in defeat.

"I know..it's just..everything's gotten more stressful. The commissioner is breathing down our backs, Allura's already thinking about copping out and giving the case to the F.B.I. like the commissioner demanded which could take weeks for them to approve. Who knows how many more murders this guy is going to commit before they show up? I'm worried about Lance enough as is without involving the Butcher. This is like celebrity level stalking, I know he's a model and everything but he's in serious trouble considering the stunts this guy can pull off and after seeing that receipt, this guy obviously has the money to go all out. If he can afford to throw away money for calligraphy artists and other services, what else can this maniac do, and how long until he finally snaps…" Keith muttered out loud. He usually kept these dark thoughts to himself, but he was in a constant state of uncertainty these days, it felt like he was in way over his head, which in a way he was. Who knows when another body was going to turn up or if Lance was harassed in some way again?

As inappropriate as it probably was, Keith really wished the dancer was by their side at all times. He had declined their invitation to join them on a ride along, saying he needed to get back to the studio to practice, given his time off to heal his ankle had put him behind. Shiro had given him strict orders, this time even giving Lance one of his stern pouts as he reminded Lance not to go anywhere alone. Not even to the bathroom alone, which had Lance protesting slightly but ultimately giving up, promising both cops he wouldn't do anything reckless.

Even Lance couldn't object to that serious face.

"I've been a little worried too, about both of these cases. I know I told Lance not to go off alone, but I'd feel better if one of us was close by, just in case something happens. I mean whoever this perp is, he could just walk up to Lance on the street and try something. We got lucky last time and managed to jump in before anything happened with that David guy." Shiro's grip on the steering wheel tightened just a bit, a part of him really wishing he had punched the smirk off that asshole's face for touching Lance in such a vile way.

"Allura hasn't called me in for anything else, want me to go visit him?" Keith asked a little concerned with how hard Shiro was gripping the wheel. Before he could respond back, Keith's phone began blaring, sighing in mild annoyance before answering the caller, Allura.

"Yeah?"

_"Keith, I need you to meet us at the corner of Fifth and Third over by the rundown furniture factory."_

"Sure. Allura is there-"

_"Yes there's been another murder."_ Keith sighed.

"Alright, I'll be there in a few. Shiro's driving me."

_"Good. He needs to be here as well."_ With that ominous message given, Allura hung up, Keith gave Shiro the directions who gladly turned the car around, taking them to the mentioned address.

"Is it-"

"Yep."

The two rushed over, sirens going off as they rode in silence, the heavy feeling spreading in their guts the closer they got. As they arrived on scene, there was a flurry of cops, paramedics and a few stragglers standing by. Even some press, including that bitch reporter who hassled Keith from earlier that week.

Just in case, Keith hid his face out of her view as they slid by the stragglers and media, showing their ID badges to the cops acting as barricades to prevent any civilians and reporters from getting too close. With clearance granted, Shiro and Keith slipped under the police tape, heading over to the alleyway where the body was surrounded by other detectives, cops, and crime scene analysts. Keith grimaced as one cop walking ahead of them spun around quickly, lurching as he ducked to get out of the way, looking for a nearby trashcan to puke in. As Keith watched the man, blanching in disgust, Shiro shakily tapped on his shoulder, bringing his attention away from the fallen officer and turning to gaze at the bloodbath the alley way had become with a completely mutilated corpse laying in the middle like some kind of altar offering.

It was as if Jack the Ripper's ghost had come back from the grave, leaving a twenty-first century flair to the crime scene.

There was blood decorating every crack and crevice of the concrete and brick walls surrounding the body. Most of the blood congregated around the abdomen and chest area, where coincidentally there seemed to be multiple stab wounds located. The clothes were torn roughly, suggesting a more hurried, more emotional type of killing and as Keith glanced farther down, he could definitely see why the other cop had left to go throw up, wincing as he felt the urge to cross his legs.

"Well, you don't see that everyday." Shiro pointed out, his face pale as he stared at the body, mostly regarding the face where the victim's mouth had been sliced completely, to the point of being almost unrecognizable as well as the missing genitalia hanging from the victim's mouth, where the killer had supposedly stowed it.

Yeah this was not part of their city's tourist attraction, that's for sure.

"Keith, look at his hair, isn't that-"

"It is…"

Keith stared agape at the body of that David guy, now realizing that despite the aggravated slashes and cuts decorating his face, it was the same man who had tried to accost Lance last night. Swallowing back rising bile, Keith took a step forward wanting and yet not wanting to get close to the body until a firm hand clamped on his shoulder, forcing him back.

"Keith? I'm afraid you and Shiro will need to come with us to the precinct, we have some questions for you two." Allura stated firmly, her eyes glazed with confusion and yet full of authority, which Keith merely gazed back, dazed by everything going on around him. While Keith stumbled along by her guiding hand towards the waiting police car, Shiro followed as well, feeling his earlier words of Lance not being involved with the Butcher case were spoken too soon.

 

                                                                                               ***********

 

"Did you hear what happened?"

"What?"

"Police found another body just a few hours ago!"

"Holy shit, is it that butcher guy?"

"The news seems to think so but there hasn't been an official statement yet. They don't even know who the body is."

"Geez it's probably him then, there hasn't been any other killers in the news lately."

"How do you know? With the rate this guy's going, there's probably been massive unreported deaths that we don't know about!"

Lance rolled his eyes as he listened in on his fellow dancer's conversation. The news had surprised them all when Nyma came running in announcing there's been another murder that had everyone whipping out their phones, eager for the latest news story. Lance used the time to hang back, stretch himself out a bit more before wandering over to the water fountains to refill his water bottle. Any other day, he might've been curious like his coworkers, but since his personal life has now been affected crime-wise, he'd rather stay away from anything murder related. Plus, all this negativity wasn't good for his skin. Taking a long swig from the bottle, he didn't notice the broad figure approaching him until he opened his eyes and nearly spewed water all over the newcomer.

"Lotor! Jesus, warn a guy next time will ya?" Lance coughed, struggling for air as Lotor frowned at him.

"I apologize. I was coming to ask you if you'd like to accompany me to dinner tonight. You seem to be on edge Lance, is something the matter?" He asked, stepping closer as Lance flushed from the attention, not missing the hand pausing in front of him, almost begging to touch him.

"I just... I had a rough night is all. I'm just not on my a-game like usual." Lance pointedly stepped out of reach, watching as the man before him sighed his hand drifting back towards his side.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I heard about the recent murder of one of your coworkers and I was worried for your well being." Lance frowned at that, leaning in closer so as not to draw attention to their conversation.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused. As far as he knew, no details of the recent murder had come up. How would Lotor know who the victim was, and also who specifically was he talking about?

"Your coworker, someone named David I presume? He was found, throat and face all slashed up, I know you two didn't seem terribly close, but I'm sure he will be greatly missed." Lance felt ice spread throughout his veins, traveling all over his body. The victim was David?

As Lance struggled to come up with an answer, two cops came up to them with the director, Terry in tow, as he also appeared to be upset from the news.

"Are you Lance McClain?" One officer spoke, his voice low and trying to be inconspicuous despite the attention that was now focused on him by his coworkers and teachers alike. Lance nodded his head, gripping his arms to hold himself as he heard many whispers spreading around which unnerved him even more.

"Will you come with us please? We have some questions we need you to answer for us back at the precinct." The officer reasoned with Terry nodding his head, indicating it was best if Lance didn't argue. Lance nodded and immediately left with the cops, his coworker's whispers following after him as he tried to block their harsh words and theories from his mind. One officer was leading the way with his partner trailing behind Lance, just as a precaution as they headed outside towards a parked squad car.

Getting in, Lance felt like a criminal, ducking low into the seat to avoid the curious stares of onlookers, mortified as a few even dug out their phones, probably thinking he had been arrested. Geez, Keith was right about people being nosey!

From there it was a long, quiet ride to the precinct with Lance wondering idly why Keith or Shiro weren't the ones to come get him, before realizing again the body they had found was David's and were most likely also being questioned. Groaning, Lance slid his face into his hands, not caring about the disdainful look the officer driving gave him. Lance hoped that despite the scene last night, none of the officers or detectives would think he and the others had something to do with the murder. He gulped, hoping he wouldn't have to look at some pictures of dead bodies, as much as he entertained the idea of being on some detective show, seeing real dead bodies was not on Lance's bucket list.

The three of them pulled up to the precinct, which was alive with people running around, answering phone calls, dealing with the daily hassle of the recent murder when Lance spotted Keith and Shiro sitting on a bench, talking low amongst themselves, a cop sitting nearby, not so subtly keeping an eye on them both.

"Keith! Shiro!" Lance called, watching as their gazes glanced to him, both of them immediately getting to their feet only to have the cop sitting with them jump to his feet to block their way. Lance watched him noticeably shake his head, speaking in a low, hushed tone that had Keith scowling and Shiro attempting to reason with the cop. A cough came from behind him with Lance turning to see the cops who had driven him, gesturing for Lance to follow them down a hallway. Leaving his favorite cops behind, he walked down a winding hallway until he was lured to a small room, a table and two chairs in the center, a mirror behind one of them.

Lance snorted, knowing what was about to happen, having watched plenty of Brooklyn 99 episodes to recognize this room, one officer giving him a dirty look afterwards. After that, they gave strict orders for Lance not to go anywhere before they both left leaving Lance alone to process everything that happened so far. He felt cold again as he thought about David, his face pale and scarred as Lotor had described. He glanced around for a trashcan feeling ill, but stopped as the door opened revealing a tall, young woman with silvery white hair. She came in, small frown on her face and a file in her hand looking every bit as regal and authoritative as the pins and crispness of her police captain uniform. She regarded Lance with a careful look, probably already judging by his stance, that he hadn't killed anybody in his life, not even a fly.

"Hello. I am Captain Allura Altea of this precinct. How are you doing today Sir?"

She asked politely, as she crossed the short walk to the other available chair and sat down.

"Well..I just found out one of my coworker's was murdered and I was brought here so..not good?" He answered unsure as Allura nodded.

"Understandable, I just want to ask you a few questions, mostly regarding your last interaction with your coworker. When did you last see him and where?" Allura asked, she shifted forward in her seat, clasping her hands together as she studied his every move. Lance gulped, knowing then it was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that was terrible and the next few might take alot to get through but were approaching the climax of the story! Hoorayy!! Whos ready for damsel Lance soon?!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance assists the cop squad with David's case and discovers a creepy connection between the past murders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy another update! More police jargon unfortunately sorry if anything is confusing this shit is so hard to write(cuz its so boringgggg like just solve it already lol). Anyways, we are approaching the climax soon so buckle up your seatbelts kids, it will be a bumpy ride. I am also participating in the Shance Valentines Exchange, so my attention will be focused on that as well as the fewt tests I have coming up.
> 
> Also, FANART APPRECIATION TIME! pythagoreanpineapple drew fanart of our lovely Lance in his ballet attire! Go have a look-see and make sure to reblog and support their beautiful art! 
> 
> http://pythagoreanpineapple.tumblr.com/post/182285982597/have-a-ballet-dancer-lance-inspired-by-the

"And after that, he took off down the street… That was the last we saw of him." Lance swore as Allura nodded grimly. 

"And he hasn't tried to contact you since the incident?" Lance shook his head, he could feel one of his rants just building up and the last thing he needed or wanted was to get himself as well as Keith and Shiro in more trouble. Oh god he hoped they weren't in trouble.

Allura sighed, although to Lance it sounded more relieved than annoyed as she stood up, then gestured towards the door.

"All right Lance, your story does match up with Keith and Shiro's statements. You may leave this room, but we would prefer if you stayed in the precinct until we can get you a proper alibi of course." Lance nodded, mostly relieved he didn't have to look at photos of any dead bodies.

"Of course. Can I suggest someone? Maybe my next door neighbor? She's an older woman and I know she stays home a lot. She may have seen us walk in." Lance offered which Allura eagerly took out a pad of paper and pen, getting the address down and thanking him before guiding Lance down the hall and towards the open area where he had seen Keith and Shiro earlier. As Lance looked around, he noticed there were more people coming in and out, most likely because of the murder and it was filled with desks and scattered papers. It looked completely chaotic but Lance knew, after having four older siblings crammed into a small house, that things were not always disorganized as they may seem, that there was a method to the madness.

"Lance, this way please." Lance eagerly followed her into some kind of break room, where a few officers were standing around with a smaller person, about the size of a kid honestly, as well as his two favorite cops.

"Lance!" Keith surged forward, interrupting whatever some officer had been saying to him as he bounded closer until he was right by Lance's side, checking him over slowly much to Allura's exasperation.

"Oh honestly Keith, I didn't torture him!"

"I never said you did!" He defended as Shiro slid up to them, offering Lance a weary look of apology.

"Are you okay Lance? I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Shiro offered which Lance waved off.

"I mean, with the way my life seems to be going right now, this might as well happen. I just hope my neighbor can validate our alibis." Lance stated tired as Shiro nodded.

"Even if she can't, the fingerprint samples can clear us hopefully. I'm sure we'll find somebody in the meantime." Shiro stated confidant as Keith suddenly snapped his fingers in realization.

"The penthouse!" As the others stared at him clueless, he rolled his eyes, huffing in exasperation. "I noticed a light from one of our neighbor's penthouse who had to have seen the light from your TV screen through your shitty curtains! We could ask them to prove our alibi." Keith pointed out as Lance gave Keith a vexed look.

"My curtains aren't shitty!" He protested as Keith scoffed.

"We live in the city with a courtyard light as bright as the sun. It's either get blackout curtains or never sleep."

"Ahem." All three turned towards the stern Allura who was standing there tapping her foot impatiently, files in her hand, one eyebrow pitched up in annoyance.

"If you three are done flirting, I'd like Detective Kogane and Captain Shirogane to come to the briefing room, so we can discuss the recent murder." She stated with Pidge whistling innocently behind her, aware this wasn't the time to poke the bear any further.

"Aren't we suspects though? Is this even allowed?" Lance asked confused as Shiro shook his head about to answer but Allura beat him to it.

"Technically you are, but given you have nothing to hide and willingly went along with questioning plus, you're both wonderful detectives as long as the commissioner keeps busy and doesn't notice, we should be okay." Allura whispered, winking conspiratorially as Keith sighed in disbelief.

"Oh god we're gonna have to do a lot of sucking up to that asshole aren't we?" Keith complained as Allura shushed him.

"Only if he finds out. If, being the keyword here, so none of this leaves this room or this group, understand me?" At all the head nods, Allura smiled before leading them all to the debriefing room. Just before Lance could enter however, Allura held up her hand, making him pause outside the doorway.

"I apologize Mr. McClain but this is a matter of official police business only." Allura stated, her voice firm. As Keith and Shiro were about to voice their objections, Lance held up his hand, silencing whatever they were going to say.

"Are there pictures of dead bodies in there?" He asked, voice edging towards caution as Allura nodded, "Yes."

"Yeah...no thanks. I'd rather wait over there. You guys have fun with your creepy murder solving!" Lance called, waving goodbye as he went up to a random officer, asking him for something who seemed all too happy to offer him a chair to sit on, another officer leaning over to offer him some coffee. Seeing the two cops fawning over Lance left a heated, sickening feeling in Keith as he watched with narrowed eyes as Lance began chatting with the two men unaware of the lure he held on Keith. Or on anyone to be honest.

 "Wow your little crush over there certainly has a way with men." Keith turned to face Pidge, their eyes holding a teasing glint that told Keith they were obviously joking with him, but it didn't help calm down the fiery storm erupting inside his stomach, especially when it flared up each time Lance's loud laughter burst through the noise of the precinct.

"It's not a crush! I'm just worried is all." Keith lied, Pidge snorted, obviously not falling for the lie as they rolled their eyes before turning to head back into the debriefing room.

"Whatever man, all I'm trying to say is, if you don't make a move, somebody else is bound to beat you to it." With that, Pidge scurried off, leaving Keith to wonder if he should take that advice despite what he had said to Shiro earlier about waiting. 'Oh, if only this wasn't such a shitty time though,' Keith growled frustrated, attracting a few fellow officer's attentions who just backed up slightly to avoid the angry cop's temper that he was known for. Especially if someone hadn't refilled the coffee pot. With that depressing thought in mind, Keith finally headed into the debriefing room, ready to focus his mind on the case and not personal matters. Shiro thankfully was allowed to help them, given the commissioner didn't know about it, or else he'd be stomping in like a raging bull, spouting nonsense about how they should hand the case over to real pros, blah, blah, blah. Quickly the group got down to business. They each inspected over the photos, Pidge pulling out their computer to look into the victim's social media accounts, noticing the recent victim's matched up with where the previous victims had been before their murders. Also, as Keith and Shiro helpfully confirmed for them, David had also been at The Queer Pong the night he was murdered, just before he tried to assault Lance.

"So let's focus on the recent killing. This young man, David Harper was found, body by the dumpster, cause of death was severe blood loss which as you can see in the photos, it was...alot is putting it mildly." Allura handed over some photos taken by the crime scene unit, passing them around with the others glancing them over with matching winces.

"I'll say. This dude's murder had more blood involved than the elevator from The Shining." Pidge remarked, wincing as Shiro gave them an exasperated look.

"Pidge." 

"What? I thought it was a fair comparison."

Keith tuned them out as he gazed upon the photos of David. The first thing that came to Keith's mind, was anger. Whoever did this killing, obviously did it out of rage, going by the entry of the stab wounds, and the direction of the blood splatters on the concrete and walls. While the Butcher tended to mutilate his victims, none were as sloppy and messy as this. The man's genitals had been cut off, supposedly his...parts found stuffed in his mouth, like they were shoved down his throat. The man's hands were also missing, something Keith had missed the first time he got there.

"Do we know what happened to the hands?" He asked which Allura shook her head. "We have officers searching through every corner of that alley, but we suspect the killer took them as a trophy maybe."

"They probably act as some kind of symbolism for the killer. The killer probably saw this guy assaulting Lance which made him angry. Taking his hands, might have made the killer feel like he was providing his own sense of justice, removing the hands that assaulted others could be seen like a punishment." Pidge informed with Shiro raising an eyebrow in response.

"Then why go the extra mile, or kilometer in this case, and kill him too? Our killer was obviously enraged, it's your text book example of a crime done out of passion." He wondered with Allura humming in thought.

"Going back to what Pidge said, if our killer had seen what was going on with Lance and this David, he either could have had a similar experience that maybe triggered this reaction from him...or it could be something else?" Keith looked up, hearing the implicating tone of Allura's voice.

"Allura?" He prompted her, hoping she would say it outright and tell them which is exactly what happened but just as she said it, he wished the words had never left her mouth. 

"Is it possible that our killer may have known Lance and that's why the murder was so brutal? It's certainly a crime of passion, especially if we consider the killer was doing it out of vengeance for Lance." Allura finished as Keith shot her a dark look.

"We don't know that for sure. Plus, he doesn't know anybody except for the other dancers and his friend Hunk, who doesn't fit the criteria of a serial killer. The man's a giant teddy bear." Keith argued, the last thing he wanted right now was to get Lance involved more than he already was. He could tell by the look on Shiro's face he felt the exact same way.

"Shiro, are you not working on a special case regarding Lance and a certain stalker?" Allura asked as Shiro sighed, brow furrowed. He didn't want to believe these two cases were tied but it did seem like too big of a coincidence now.

"I am, but I think we need more evidence first before we can assume the two cases are related. I especially don't want to alarm Lance further than he already is. An obsessive stalker is enough, the last thing he needs to worry about, especially if it's not even true, is an obsessive stalker with no problem murdering others." He stated with Allura bowing her head.

"I hear what you're saying Shiro but I think with this new revelation, it's in his best interest to keep Lance under surveillance by a patrolling officer at all times. Even if this man isn't the serial killer we've been after for weeks, there's a good chance he could be Lance's stalker and until this man is caught or more details have come forward on David's murder, I don't want to take anymore risks." She stated as Keith stared at her shocked.

"Allura, as much as I agree with keeping him where it's safe, won't telling him that just make him freak out even more?" 'Not to mention angry,' Keith thought, not wanting to be the one to break that news to him. It was one thing to have to stay with a friend or buddy all the time, but to have your life under constant supervision by cops all because of a slight possibility that a madman with a crush was also handy with a knife... 

"Keith, we need to take precautions! I'm sure whoever killed David might also possibly be connected to the Butcher case. There are other factors we need to consider as well. For example, Lance knowing who the murder victim was before any information had been released to the public!" The room went quiet after that Keith and Shiro wearing matching expressions of astonishment.

"Hold up, did you say Lance knew it was David before he got here?" Keith asked, confused. They had only known about the recent victim when they had shown up to the crime scene. There were maybe a few reporters mingling around the crime scene area but none of them knew who the victim was. How would Lance know that information before the media?

"Yes...I asked him how his day was, stupid I know, and one of the first things he said to me was that his coworker had been murdered. How would a civilian know about that information before the press?" Allura stated slowly… The room was quiet for a few minutes before Pidge stood up.

"You don't think he could have something to do with it do you?" Pidge wondered out loud, the doubtful tone to their voice a clue itself that even they didn't buy what they had just said. "He doesn't fit the serial killer credentials at all! He's very sociable, has friends, surprisingly. Dude has a steady, and very demanding job, and most importantly, gets squeamish regarding pictures of dead bodies. He's definitely not our guy." Pidge declared.

"I'm very well aware of Kogane's and Shirogane's boy toy being squeamish towards corpses. I never said he could be the killer, I'm more concerned about his involvement with this case and that he's the target of another. A case specifically involving stalking may I remind you." Allura stated patiently as Shiro sat there, thoughtful for a bit.

"From what we know about our killer, he's very organized where he does his killings and how he acts them out. He's hedonistic based, seems to hunt mostly for the thrill of it, but with the oddly specific victims he finds, it would make sense there might be a lust aspect tied in some way as well." Shiro spoke out loud, as he glanced over the board with all the pictures of the victims posted, including their most recent victim found that morning. While David's murder is drastically different from the others, it was hard to see any similarities between his case and the past victim's.

"What do you think Shiro?" Keith asked curious as Shiro regarded the photos with a steely look to his eyes.

"I think the cases share a common theme involving lust is all. This stalker after Lance believes they have deep feelings for him and the Butcher is recreating their ideal love interest through the corpses."

"Gross! Are you saying this dude's having sex with dead bodies?!" Four heads spun towards the opened doorway where Lance stood gazing at all the paperwork curiously, his eyes noticeably staying away from the board that held dead bodies.

"Lance!" Keith was right by his side immediately, shielding him from the view of the bodies as the others faced him as well.

"Lance, I thought you were going to wait out there." Allura pointed towards the bullpen, obviously disgruntled with a civilian in their workspace as Lance sheepishly glanced at her, his eyes flicking towards the board and her annoyed stance.

"I was, but then I thought I recognized something familiar..in the pictures." He said hesitant as he pointed towards the photos of the mutilated bodies as the room grew silent.

"What did you see?" Allura asked, seemingly forgetting her earlier annoyance of Lance being there, now all too eager to welcome him to join them. Lance nodded.

"There's something about the way they look... The way they're posing I mean." Lance glanced around, unsure if he should be saying this out loud considering he had no experience in this stuff at all but Allura waved him inside anyway, eager for some fresh, new information.

"Keith get Lance a chair. Pidge get the photos off the board, so he can examine them. Shiro, please close the door, I don't want anyone to walk in on this." Allura stated firmly with all three quickly following suit on her orders. Lance watched as the four cops jumped into action as he slid into the offered chair, hoping his hunch was simply that, a hunch. As photos were taken down and plopped onto the table before him, he felt his hunch grow into certainty and disgust the more he recognized the body positions the past victims were found in. It was quite horrifying to realize the pale, discolored bodies resembled the very same dance positions he had learned and performed for the past twenty years of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was decent, if not well its already out there and theres no turning back now. This car is already diving off the cliff.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team focuses on the new information Lance has provided and decide another look at the crime scene is needed. Meanwhile, Lance is ordered to stay at the precinct but is he really safe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoollyyyyy crap it has been years! Sorry this took so long, school kept me busy, work has been driving me insane, and the shance valentines thing happened, which was my first and probably will be my last time i do a mystery exchange. Anyways, I haven't had time to work on this fic as much as I want lately but i do have some vacation time coming up in two weeks and hope to work on this fic and(i dont want to get anyones hopes up but maybe a possible sequel)? a few others aus ive had ideas for! 
> 
> So nothing set in stone just little wips im working on currently. if anything does wind up official i will let yall know in case theres interest!

_"Another body brutally butchered to death by the Blue Eyed Butcher folks! The body of ballet dancer David Harper from Altea Dance Productions was found this morning. The young man was meticulously sliced up like deli ham and left to bleed out. Our sources say the police have no statements to give at this time, but the police commissioner is requesting all civilians to follow through with curfew and to avoid any late night activity for their own protection-"_

_"The Blue Eyed Butcher has struck again and it seems he's getting angrier folks-"_

_"Altea city is no longer safe! Another murder by the Blue Eyed Butcher has turned up and it's a blood bath."_

Shiro flicked the TV off, disgusted by the shock style news-reporting that was going on although he couldn't blame the public for being scared with a murderer skulking around their beloved city. Altea city has never had a murder like this before, some homicides regarding drug deals and prostitution but never a serial killer. Shiro glanced over to the others, hoping none of them were paying attention to the news reports, thankfully gazing as Pidge continued to infiltrate The Queer Pong's cameras, hoping to catch a glimpse of their killer. If that didn't work, Allura was going to have the others go door to door, ask some questions for the neighbors, their standard questioning for anything suspicious. With their luck and the killer's stealth, they had no chance.

The person who was his main concern was Lance right now, as he sat looking frazzled in the chair, eyes focused but unseeing towards the table where the grizzly pictures of the bodies once sat.

"Lance?" Shiro asked, leaning forward to gently prod the other man as he jumped slightly from the contact.

"Oh sorry Shiro, I was just thinking is all." Lance stated quietly, not wanting to disturb Pidge's focus as they clicked through camera frames, pulling up the zoom features for each angle and grumbling when they didn't find who they were looking for.

"It's all right, I know you're worried about a lot right now. You have every right to feel this way." Shiro consoled him, puling his chair closer as the two men sat there, Lance shot him a grateful smile that didn't reach his eyes unfortunately.

"Shiro, do you really think my case is connected with the Butcher?" Lance asked, swallowing the anxiety he felt to mingle with the nervous butterflies that hadn't left since he was escorted to that police car. He was aware of the theory Allura presented him with, stating he could be in more danger, if the Blue Eyed Butcher was also the stalker. Shiro studied him a bit more, unsure whether he should be honest, but as he took in the worried lines creasing his forehead, the under eye bags and the anxious expression Lance gave him, Shiro found himself leaning towards being honest and open with him rather than obtaining his usual reassuring police captain persona.

"I don't know honestly, I'm sorry it's not a good answer but I can promise you, whatever happens, if the cases are linked somehow, we will do everything in our power to stop this person. As I said from the beginning, I'll do everything I can to help you." Shiro swore, taking Lance's hands gently in his and clasping them tightly in reassurance as Lance finally smiled back him.

"Shiro, I-"

"Gaaayyyy." Both Shiro and Lance swiveled their heads to face Pidge who stood there unamused, drinking what was probably their tenth cup of coffee.

"We have a strict no PDA rule here because we already have to deal with Officer Love Mullet and Captain Corny over there making goo-goo eyes at each other all the time. Don't make me throw up from your feelings too." Pidge growled as they plopped down in the seat beside Lance, ignoring his flustered sputtering and Shiro's crimson cheeks.

"You, you mean, rude gremlin child!" Lance insulted, nearly chuckling in success as Pidge glared back at him.

"I will wreck your photos from your photoshoots!"

"With what? One of those toy my first computer kits?" Pidge shrieked, almost about to jump over the table to strangle him when Allura sighed, coming up to the two of them and gripping Pidge to hold them back.

"Please don't antagonize my detectives Mr. McClain. Also, I've seen your work...your ears looked hideous in one photo." Allura stated simply before walking away, leaving a smug Pidge and shocked Lance behind.

"Oh come on, haven't I suffered enough today?" Lance complained as Keith came back in with his own fresh cup of coffee, as well as one for Shiro and one for Lance, handing them over to the two grateful men.

"I thought his photos were nice." Keith admitted, completely serious and oblivious to Lance's bashful face.

"Thank you, Keith! Despite your mullet, you have good taste!"

"Don't bite on the hand that feeds you!"

"What does that even mean?!"

"I grew up in the South we have alot of weird sayings, don't judge me!"

"I did too and I've never heard that! My family moved to Florida from Cuba!"

"Florida is its own country, it doesn't count! I'm never complementing you again! See if I ever buy a magazine with your face on it!" As Lance gasped deeply offended, Shiro blinked, realization dawning on him that he never did ask Lance about the magazine in his bathroom _._ He turned towards the two men, pretending they weren't sticking their tongues out at each other like children.

"Lance, that magazine in your bathroom last night, did you put it there?" He asked as Lance frowned at him.

"That one you showed me before Keith made such a rude assumption about my career?"

"It was a fair assumption! Everyone who starts out modeling usually does stock photos!" Keith defended as Shiro nodded, ignoring him.

"Yes, that is the one. Did you leave it in your bathroom by any chance? I don't remember it being there when I first inspected the apartment after the break-in." Shiro stated as Lance seemed deep in thought.

"Uh... No, I don't think so? Actually, that magazine you found is probably half a year old by now. It was for a clothing brand advertising their winter fashion line." Lance spoke, nodding to himself as Keith gave him an exasperated look.

"Winter line? You were wearing a light sweater and low cut jeans." Keith pointed out as Lance turned to him, arms flailing exasperated.

"Hey! I just put on what they tell me to, all right!" He argued as Shiro glanced sharply to Pidge.

"Pidge can you look up a certain magazine that's been out of print for about a year?"

"Yeah I can, or you can just Google what fashion line Lance was wearing and the images are sure to pop up." Pidge stated matter of factly as Shiro grumbled "Smartass," under his breath before whisking the laptop towards him.

"Lance who were you wearing in that photoshoot?" Lance gave him the name curious as to what this would prove when Shiro happily found what he was looking for and turned the computer towards the others to look. There, on the webpage was the exact same magazine spread that Lance had been in, dated exactly six months ago. As Lance admired his good looks once again, boasting how this was one of his first major photoshoots that launched his career, Allura narrowed her eyes as she studied the photo, finding something oddly familiar about it.

"Is it me or is there something weird about this photo, other than Lance's ears." She asked ignoring Lance's offended "Hey!" Shiro merely gave him a sympathetic glance before continuing on, "This was the same magazine I came across at Lance's after forensics came by. There's something about this I'm not quite sure about, but I will need the case file for this crime scene just to make sure."

"Where are you going with this Shiro? What's so important about the magazine?" Keith asked eyes searching the photo for answers as Shiro sat back, eyes far away in thought.

"I think the stalker placed it there deliberately so Lance would find it."

The others stood there in dreaded silence, Lance noticeably turning white as a sheet as Pidge gave Shiro a questioning look. "So you think this was planted in his apartment after forensics got involved?" Shiro nodded, his gaze hardening as the others stiffened in response.

"That place was a wreck though and it was locked up tight after all crime scene experts left, how would Lance's stalker get back in?" Keith asked confused as Shiro tapped his metal fingers impatiently.

"I'm not sure, but they probably used the same method to break into Lance's apartment to begin with. From what Keith and I've found so far, we know his stalker has the money and means to operate from a distance. They've paid a fortune for those letters and had others deliver them for them. It's not too far off an assumption if he paid someone to slip in and plant the magazine there as well." Shiro explained as Allura nodded her head slowly.

"And how does this relate to the Butcher case? I'm glad we're helping out Lance here, I really am, but other than Lance's charming blue eyes and the dancing, I see no other reasons Lance would be involved." Allura stated, sounding a bit frustrated that her own theory had been proven baseless as Lance sat down exhausted from all this detective talk.

"I'm with Allura, it sounds like some creepy coincidence. Plus, I want to go home!" Lance demanded pouting as Keith gave him a stern glare.

"You're not going home until this weirdo stalking you is caught."

"You're a weirdo." Lance grumbled that last part, although Keith clearly heard it as he opened his mouth about to retort but Shiro beat him to it.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," Shiro sighed beyond done with their antics. He stood up, taking on a heroic-like stance as he faced Lance and the others.

"As Captain of the 95th precinct, I'd say it's in your best interest Lance to stay here or with one of us at all times, until David's killer, or your stalker is caught. I'm sure my colleague Allura agrees with my decision. If you need to go home and collect a few things one of us or another officer will escort you. That is final." He ordered not missing the scowl making it's way on Lance's face. Lance hunched forward in his seat, grumbling, but nodded to show his reluctant agreement.

"Good, with that settled, Pidge, I want you and Keith to come with me to check out David's crime scene again, look for any other clues that could help us identify the killer. With as sloppy as that murder was, there's bund to be evidence that forensics perhaps looked over." Allura ordered ignoring Pidge's mumbled, "Doubt it," as she exited the room.

Keith got up to follow but not before facing Lance, shuffling awkwardly in place when Shiro took the lead for him and sat down next to Lance, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lance do you want to go home and collect your things? We can also stop by Hunk's if you have some stuff there." He asked carefully as Lance still held the scowl from earlier on his face.

"I'll do that later. I know you guys are pretty busy at the moment." He sighed, his head collapsing into his hands as both Keith and Shiro looked on in discouragement. As Keith pondered whether he should leave or stay to comfort Lance a little, Lance made the decision for him by excusing himself from the room to use the restroom. He didn't see the two cops watching after him with matching looks of forlorn, wishing they could clear all of this up.

"Okay, call me if you need anything." Keith nodded at Shiro before he took off after the others, hoping they found another clue to end this bizarre entanglement of cases and get that beaming smile back where it belonged on Lance's beautiful face.

 

                                                                                                 ********

"Nothing here, of fucking course. Just like I said so earlier." Pidge complained, kicking a loose pebble with their shoe in frustration as Allura peeked behind the dumpster, barely touching the greasy metal with her gloves, a look of regret washed all over her face.

"Pidge please keep your temper restrained. This crime scene may help our case." She stated, face contorting into one of disgust as she peered all behind the backside of the dumpster and the wall. What a horrifying sight it was.

Keith glanced around as well. Not particularly paying attention to his coworkers like he should, eyes gazing around the familiar crime scene, somewhat cleaned up of blood thankfully with some debris still lying around, a few pieces still coated in the red filth that the cleanup crew obviously felt didn't matter. Whipping out his phone, Keith sent Shiro a quick text, asking how Lance was doing. Shiro simply texted him a sad face and stating Lance was still upset, as he should be, and that he had gone to get some snacks for the both of them, to hopefully at least cheer him up. Before Keith could text back, something caught his attention, a bright blue scrap of paper.

Cautiously, Keith knelt down towards the paper, gloved hand reaching out and grabbing the blue eye, its brilliantness barely dimmed by the thin coating of blood on it.Keith's eyes widened as he held the paper up for his coworkers to see, who had noticed by now how awfully quiet their coworker was being. As he held the eye up for them to see, they both froze, chills probably dancing down their spines as they all knew exactly what this eyeball cutout represented. 

The mark of the Blue-Eyed Butcher.

 

                                                                                                ******** 

"Lance? I know you're probably not hungry but I have some snacks if you want somethin-" Shiro drifted off, not seeing Lance where he had last seen him, resting lazily in the bullpen. Slightly panicking but keeping himself grounded, Shiro walked around the precinct, expecting Lance to be talking with some officers like earlier, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Lance?" Shiro called again, a bit louder this time, ignoring the funny looks shot his way as he searched throughout the entire precinct floor now, hoping he was just using the bathroom at this point. As he walked back in from where he started, another officer popped up giving Shiro a confused glance.

"Are you looking for that dancer, blue eyes, long legs, brown hair?" He asked. Shiro nodded.

"Yes, I am. He should be waiting here in the precinct, he was told not to leave just yet."

"Well, I saw another officer walk up to him and after they spoke, he just left with her." Shiro's eyes bugged out, quickly he grabbed the officer by their lapels despite his protests as Shiro leaned in closer.

"What did that officer look like? Which way did they go and how long ago was this?" He spouted, words almost stumbling over themselves as the officer in his grip wrestled from his grip.

"I-I don't remember, tall and built maybe? They left about five minutes before you walked in, like they were heading outside." The officer stammered, a bit nervous as Shiro's grip became tighter.

"And you just let them go? Lance was connected to the recent murder and has a stalker on the loose! And you just let him go?" Shiro demanded as the officer held out his hands.

"I-I had no idea sir! I'm sure we can track him down soon if we just-"

"See that we do. This is an emergency, that man is under our protection! Phone my precinct, let me get in touch with my sergeant, so I can debrief my squad. Then call your captain and let me speak with her."

"Y-Yes sir!" Several officers took off in different directions, any other day it would've been one hilarious comical moment, but right now this matter was completely serious. Shiro only hoped that Lance was at least safe for now and not in immediate danger.

Yet he was completely unaware of the news his boyfriend Keith was about to spring on him.

 

                                                                                                    ********

Lance fidgeted in the backseat between two women who sure as hell didn't look like police officers to him. When he asked about it the one with a colorful, high pony-tail merely smirked at him and said they were with the foreign police, which just made even less sense than before. Still, after that conversation, he was done with talking to these women, finding something creepy and off about them, especially the super buff one that came and got him in the precinct. She had said she and a few other officers were told to escort him to get his belongings, which somewhat made sense with the uniform and all but at the same time, Lance was kinda hoping it would've been either Shiro or Keith, or better yet, both of them, helping him out with that task. They usually made him feel protected and safe enough with just their presences alone. Lance sighed, ignoring the questioning gazes the pony-tail woman sent to the silent, pixie cut woman on the other side of him, who hadn't spoken a single word to Lance at all.

It was a bit suspicious, now that he was stuck in the awkward car ride alone with them, without his phone.

"So where are we going exactly?" He asked, swallowing down his nerves in hopes he appeared brave, but he was probably looking more like a fool to them.

"The dance studio to collect your things. Then we'll take you somewhere safe as promised." The buff woman spoke, her gaze never wavering from the road as she merged in and out of traffic a bit dangerously Lance noted.

"O-ok then." Lance said leaning back against the uncomfortable middle seat he was stuck in, neither of his backseat buddies willing to speak. He sighed inwardly.

He was supposed to be safe, yet he felt like he was walking into a den of hungry lions.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're close to solving this mystery(lmao what mystery we all know who did it) and Lance meets his doom.

Keith called Shiro immediately after what they found. As he waited he watched his partners as they processed the new information. Allura was standing beside Pidge, who was now inspecting the eyeball closely with the tech equipment they brought along, just in case this was a fake and planted by someone other than the Butcher. The chances of that were really low but with their shitty luck, you never know. When his call was sent to caller ID, Keith groaned, merely leaving Shiro a message simply saying, "Shiro its me, Keith! Pick up your phone already," before flipping it shut. Yes, he had an ancient flip phone, no he wasn't going to upgrade.

Especially not one of those damned television sized phone tablets the others had, or phablets as Pidge called them.

"Shiro's not picking up, what's got him so busy?" Keith wondered a bit annoyed. It was odd for Shiro to never answer his phone, especially if Keith was calling him. Sure there were some busy days what with Shiro being captain of his own precinct, but he had spoiled Keith a bit in the attention department, if Keith was being honest. Shiro not picking up immediately was probably the most inconvenient first world problem ever and it left Keith pouting a little bit, his anxiety increasing every second as he paced back and forth, waiting for the others to finish their analysis.

"This is just like the other ones the Butcher left behind, it even has the same text on the back as the others." Pidge remarked studying the fine print on the back of the eye photo, squinting to read it.

"Perhaps he has multiple copies of the same book or magazine this is from? This doesn't look good at all. This is definitely confirmation all this was done by the Butcher by why break out of their usual pattern? What set them off so much to break routine? There was no arrangement of limbs, the only mutilated body parts were the victim's genitals, and it was done with a lot of anger directed at the victim...what changed?" Allura murmured to herself appearing deep in thought as Pidge glanced up at her. 

"Well, if your theory about Lance being the target of this psychopath is true, most likely seeing him almost raped set our killer off." Pidge pointed out bluntly as Keith whirled towards them.

"If that's the case then who the hell is the killer then? So far it's still shaping out to be a huge coinci-" Keith's eyes drifted towards the eye cutout. He was reading the print to the back of the eye cut-out, something he'd done numerous times but now something on the back stood out to him, something he'd heard before or rather seen before. On the back of the magazine print were some words that were part of an article from the other side of the page. Some of the words had been cut off due to the eye shape, so they had never been able to unscramble the words. Until now that is.

"Pidge let me see that." Pidge gladly handed over the flimsy paper, curious as to what Keith had figured out with Allura leaning over just as interested. Keith studied the words, or lack of, eyes fixated on two half words in particular, one word beginning with 'soubresa-' and another ending with '-ance'. Now Keith never claimed to be a word genius, or the worlds best puzzle scrambler, in fact he was known for his lack of words more than anything, but he could swear that those words were originally 'soubresaut' and 'dance' respectively. Which would mean...

"Pidge! Allura! We gotta get back to the precinct and talk to Lance!"

"Why? What is it?" Pidge asked alarmed as they began packing up their things with Allura's eyes sparkling behind them.

"You've got that look in your eyes! You've figured out something! Or you just got a craving for street meat again..your food choices are very questionable actually." Allura noted with Keith growling in frustration.

"We don't have time for my taste in meat! Pidge, I need you to look up every single photoshoot Lance was in since he started modeling. As much as I didn't want to believe it at first, he's definitely involved with this murder and possibly the others." Keith muttered, staring into the now recognizable brilliant blue eye that certainly belonged to his crush. The pieces were finally connecting, the similarities between the bodies, the weird positions they were found in that Lance said resembled ballet dance positions, and most importantly, the eyes left behind at each scene of the crime. 

"I'm alerting the precinct right now! What's changed your mind?" Allura asked as she pulled out her phone. Her phone began ringing however, a shrill noise that disrupted the tension. As Allura checked the caller ID, announcing it was Coran from the precinct, Keith glanced back at the eye he held, entranced and also beyond scared for his favorite dancer as Pidge glanced over it as well, waiting for Keith to respond. 

"Because this is Lance's eye. This is from a picture of one of his photoshoots. He's the target."

 

******* 

 

Lance opened his locker a bit miffed and little put out by this point. He had made it to the dance studio in one piece, yes even when super-buff-cop-lady had shoved him out of the car without mercy or care for his photogenic features. Pfft, they wouldn't handle him so roughly if they knew he was a model! 

Grumbling to himself, Lance continued rifling through his things. He pulled his phone out, noticing he had a few missed calls and texts from numbers he didn't recognize except Shiro's which was odd, but he shrugged it off chalking it up to Shiro being protective which was sweet and also hot as fuck. Lance was not gonna lie, if two handsome cops got protective over his well-being, it will get him hard just thinking about it. He tossed the device back into his bag, knowing he'd see the captain soon enough and began pulling out his regular clothes to change into instead. He'd been stuck in his tights and the tight shirt he usually practiced in, not the best attire when being questioned at a police precinct, although he loved the attention he received, particularly Keith's and Shiro's. He smiled thinking about how concerned they were of him but was distracted as he pulled out a sweater, a baby blue knitted sweater that hung off his lanky frame. mmediately his brain went into remininicsing about his past days living in Cuba with his family. The sweater was a gift from his Mama just before they moved to the states to help keep him warm since it was much cooler here, even during the summers. All of his siblings had one, Veronica once joked about how similar their mom was to Mrs. Weasley from Harry Potter, particularly when it came to hand knitting most of their clothes growing up. Unlike those ungrateful wizard kids though, Lance loved his hand knitted sweaters, even picking up on the craft from his mother and abuela. He was so used to receiving hand-me-downs most of his life due to him being the youngest that any new form of clothing left him happy and warm, especially if it was something he, or his Mama, had made. Lance leaned in to smell the fabric, pressing it against his nose, it smelled of the laundry detergent he used which was comforting, although now there was a new scent he was picking up on..some kind of weird cologne smell?

'Weird,' Lance thought, shrugging before slipping it on over his head. Thankfully he managed to avoid any nosey coworkers who might ask him about the police incident, the dance studio had been oddly void of any persons hanging around and it was only four in the afternoon. Most dancers were here until midnight, if they could bribe the custodian that is. As Lance uneasily glanced around the quiet locker room, his mind thinking about the last time he was alone with that creepy letter, his hand reached forward to grab his dance bag when his fingers touched paper which had him focusing on what looked like an envelope..similar to its predecessors. Gulping, Lance opened the envelope, a piece of paper sliding out easily, noticeably shorter and smaller than the others. With shaking fingers, Lance lifted the paper to read in the same scrawly blue lettering;

_'Beautiful blue eyes_

_ Always there _

_ A reminder of what I want…can't have _

_ Such beautiful blue eyes _

_ Beautiful blue eyes…' _

Lance swallowed, wishing he could just throw this letter back in his locker, scream, and run away from it like he usually did when there was a spider nearby. He wished none of this was even happening. He needed to get his shit and then get the hell out of here, he'd put up such a fuss earlier about having to stay at the precinct, but now he was finding himself wishing he was back there surrounded by cops and under Shiro's protection, like one of those silly heroines swooning into the muscled arms of their lover as they do in his mom's romance books. With a new embarrassed vigor, Lance quickly began pulling his things out, chucking the letter to the floor in his haste to yank off his dance shoes.

"Hello Lance." Lance jumped nearly six feet, which could've been possible given his occupation. He spun around quickly but gracefully, his eyes meeting with familiar cornflower blue irises that sparkled with some type of emotion as the taller man greeted Lance with a smile.

"Lotor! Ugh, geez we'll have to put a little bell on you like a cat." Lance joked hoping to ease his nerves as they were completely rattled now no thanks to the creepy poem and Lotor's poorly timed ghostly entrance. Seriously, why was he always doing that?

Lotor merely smiled apologetically as he took a small step closer, crowding Lance against the lockers. "I'm sorry for startling you. I wanted to ask you if you were available for that dinner arrangement I offered a few hours ago?" Lotor asked with Lance sighing a bit reluctant to reject his patron for his nice but poorly timed offer, but he had to put his safety first before anything else.

"I'm sorry Lotor but the police want me to lay low for a while. I probably won't be allowed to go anywhere until some things get cleared up. Plus, I didn't say anything before but since it's now an issue, you should know I'm in a bit of trouble as well." Lance flushed, fidgeting with his fingers unseeing the flash of anger that swept over Lotor's gaze before masking into concern.

"Lance? Are you alright?" Lotor inquired softly, one hand raised up as if to cradle Lance's cheek but the younger man cleared his throat before politely moving out of reach.

"I don't know but you should know that I probably won't be able to come in for a few weeks depending on whether my stalker is caught or not. Speaking of that, I really should speak with Terry before I leave, hopefully he hasn't left yet." Lance gathered his things from his locker, pulling on some comfortable soft boots(yes it was summer but these were so comfortable for his aching feet) and tossing his dance shoes in his bag quickly, forgetting about the letter left in his locker as he turned to face Lotor who remained quiet.

"I know we just met and I was excited to meet you and work with you, but because of my current situation, I might have to take a leave of absence for a while. I understand and wouldn't be mad if you decided to pursue another dancer to sponsor. I'm flattered you offered to sponsor me to begin with! Well, I should go now, they're waiting for me back at the precinct, it was nice meeting you Lotor." Lance smiled, charming and polite as always but just as he turned to leave a sharp, painful grip wrapped itself around his wrist, halting Lance's steps as he jerked away surprised but switched into confusion as he met Lotor's angry gaze.

"Lotor? What are you doing?" Lance asked, voice overcome with slight irritation as he tried to pull away but Lotor merely tightened his grip, glaring back at him.

"Actually Lance, that's something I want to ask you." Lotor spoke, his voice nowhere near charming and light as earlier, now deep and threatening which had Lance's eyes widening in fear until the stranger in front of him shoved him back hard against the lockers, a grunt of pain escaping his lips as Lotor pinned him against the cold metal.

"You think after all this time I've spent vouching for you and caring for you, you can just tell me to move on to some other whore dancer like they aren't common street trash!" Lance struggled against his grasp, gripping the hands that were balled up in his sweater, pressing against his sternum harder every second.

"What the hell man? What's your problem?" Lance grit out, unsure what this lunatic's issue was. Lotor scoffed, a mocking laugh on the edge of his lips as he leaned in, forcing Lance to gaze back into his wild eyes uneasily.

"I've been trying to get you to notice me for weeks now. I thought using my influence would help, not only getting you the opportunity of a lifetime but also get you to see how I'd be a potential partner for you." Lance's eyes widened at this, his struggling grip slacking as he gazed back at Lotor lost.

"Lotor..." Lance spoke softly, unsure how to handle something like this. Lotor merely scowled back, his grip softening as he explained.

"I first noticed you when I was touring the place. My father's money, as dirty as it is, might as well be spent to good use somewhere and what better way to give back than to give to these artistic whores who grovel for it." Lance flinched, gaze hardening but Lotor continued on, uncaring.

"I was being truthful when I said I spotted your performance in previous shows but I also hunted you down since day one because I knew you were the one." He said earnestly which frightened Lance to his core.

"Th-the one for what?" He asked, playing dumb as Lotor cupped his chin, turning it to gaze into his own eyes as they softened, glancing down at his lips.

"The one for me of course. I was worried about those cops getting their hands on you for a little bit but now that you're here, alone, we can finally get started on phase two of the plan." Lotor stated, his voice picking up in excitement as Lance leaned farther and farther away, trying to move out of his tight grasp.

"Phase two? Lotor wait, you're not making sense, we aren't in love. We barely know each other." Lance pointed out but he realized that may have been the wrong thing to say as Lotor's eyes flashed once more, his grip on the others arms pinning Lance closer to his body, Lance releasing a gasp of pain.

"Barely know each other? I know plenty about you my dear Lance! As soon as I found out where you lived, I moved into the penthouse complex where I had a perfect view of your apartment, every night for months." Lance's eyes widened at that, his mouth opening and closing like a fishes as he struggled for something to say but Lotor continued on.

"When just watching wasn't enough I would visit you. I had to see you up close, even if it was just you stepping out into the hall for a few seconds to see who knocked on your door, I had to see your beauty up close and it was worth it. All those relentless visits to your door, the money spent on a good calligrapher for those poems but it still wasn't enough! As if that wasn't bad enough I tried to take my sexual frustrations out on a few worthy partners, men who resembled your beauty in some way. Of course, they proved futile as they were nothing like you at all and I had to remind them of that, remind the world of the fact that no-one holds a candle to you Lance. So they were disposed of, just like that arrogant David." Lotor spat with Lance gazing at him in newfound horror, his bottom lip trembling as he leaned further and further away until Lotor's arm slipped away and he was once again backed into the lockers.

"Y-you're the Butcher." Lance breathed, scared that hearing himself say it outloud will make this reality. Oh he wanted so badly for all this to be some horrible nightmare. Lotor cackled, head thrown back and shaking in delight which further scared Lance stiff at the sight of this normally put together man behaving in such a way.

"Indeed I am! But the media has it so, so wrong my love. For you see," Lotor paused, creeping closer until there was less than a few inches between him and Lance who looked so adorable, like a frightened doe gazing up at him. "The only blue eyes I'm obsessed with," He leaned in towards Lance's face, his fingers clenching around Lance's chin and cheeks, keeping his face trapped as his breath wafted over his skin and dipped to whisper low into his ear,

"Are yours." He grinned.

 

********

 

"Shiro!" Keith raced into the precinct not stopping to apologize to anyone he bumped into, wanting to make sure Lance was still here and safe. He hadn't been able to get a hold of Shiro but when Coran had called earlier stating they needed to get to the precinct asap, he knew it wasn't for something good. 

Keith glanced around looking for his boyfriend and nearly leaping over desks as he spotted him talking with the police commissioner. Oh crap.

As he got closer he could see the worried look on Shiro's face as he spoke about whatever with the commissioner, he paused glancing around once again looking for Lance only for one officer, the same one who approached Shiro earlier approached him, obviously unsure of himself.

"If you're looking for Lance he's gone." He nervously stated, drawing back as Keith fully faced him, eyes wide with disbelief. Just as he was about to drill into the officer for details, Shiro came out with the commissioner who clearly looked unhappy, but when was he never?

"Kogane. Glad to see you're here finally after Captain Shirogane just informed me that our current suspect regarding the Butcher case is loose while you and your captain were off gallivanting around." He stated bitterly as Shiro faced him with a sigh.

"No, that wasn't at all how I put it but thanks for the cliff notes version." Shiro glared not caring of the haughty look he received in return. He turned to face Keith, a look of apology and worry written all over his faces Keith stood there frozen, the commissioner's words now officially processed in his mind.

"Wait-you mean,"

"Lance is gone and we don't know where he is."

 

********

 

Lotor strode out the dance building into the fading sunlight as early evening approached Altea. Slipping on his shades to hide his glare, he walked forward towards the town car awaiting him, having finished a successful meeting with that feeble minded director. With his sole reason for even involving himself with this company in his hands, he figured there was no need to keep donating to such a sad performing arts company when he had what he wanted finally. A small smile grew on his lips as he thought over the director's perplexed face when he pulled his sponsorship. He had been a flustered, overly polite mess asking about Lance's sponsorship.

_"Lance will be taken care of, I assure you."_ Lotor had drawled and with a dramatic flip of his long hair, left. Lance will no longer be associating with these talentless swine and thankfully with his new agent, he'd be getting the representation he rightfully deserved. With all that settled, there was now nothing else for him to do here in this city, nothing stopping the rest of Lotor's plan. All he had to do now was wait for the forged passports and his private jet to be ready and they were good to go.

As he got in his car, giving his driver directions to their destination, he was distracted by thoughts of his beloved, particularly wondering if Lance liked sushi.

His phone began to ring, interrupting his thinking and rather peaceful mood. With a snarl, Lotor hastily grabbed his phone peering at the contact name before a knowing look crossed his features as one of his lackey's names popped up. Knowing what this was about, he quickly held the device to his ear, clicking the 'accept call' button, "Yes Axca?"

_"Everything is taken care of sir. We're just waiting for your private jet to get to the airport where we'll meet you at the location you mentioned."_

"Good Axca! I hope he wasn't too difficult to handle, I left him rather subdued back in the locker room for you and the others to grab."

_"He was no trouble sir. He's still unconscious and won't awaken for another few hours. Zethrid and Ezor have taken the liberty of tying him up though just in case he wakes up and tries anything."_

"That's fine so long as nothing ruins his beautiful face. I doubt my lovely will do anything that's out of character but this is quite the adjustment for him. Everything sounds splendid, I will see you at the location." Lotor hung up and leaned back in his seat resting his head against the cool leather of the head rest.

Everything was going according to plan, soon he'll get to tell his darling all about the wonderful plans he made and where they were going. He heard sirens going off in the distance and scowled to himself, hoping those damn policemen wouldn't interfere with his scheme. He had already made it this far and he was not going to lose something so precious and dear to him after all thats been sacrificed already! Lotor breathed evenly, a small little habit he'd been doing to keep from losing his cool. Everything will work out okay. He had meticulously calculated every moment from the beginning and now his hard work was going to be rewarded. With that mantra repeating in his head, Lotor's eyes flashed with a wicked gleam that matched his smile as he rested comfortably in the backseat.

Yes, everything was going to work out just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few more chapters left! I am working on the final two, so I'm not sure how long that will take as I'm dealing with drama from work right now and I just got back from a big mental health break from everything. Remember guys burnout is real and be sure to take a few days off from work/school(if youre able to) if you can.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cops piece together more info on the killer while Lance is not having any fun™.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahh sorry for the wait, school is kicking my ass, energy wise Thankfully I'm not failing any of my classes(that i know of) and I also started a new job after quitting my old one. While I'm not working as much, motivation and writers block has prevented me from wanting to do anything but thankfully yesterday I god in the ood for the first time in weeks and finally completed chapter 17. So heres chapter 16, enjoy and thanks for sticking by this fic and for all your wonderful comments, seriously its probably the only reason why I'm still forcing myself to finish this lol.
> 
> Also I decided the epilogue will be posted separate as its own fic since it will be rather wordy and lengthy unlike the usual chapters I write, so once chapter 18 is up, that is not the end, just remember that.

Keith paced back and forth as he waited for orders from his captain and the commissioner. Shiro sat idly by, his posture straight and perfectly at ease except for the leg that was bouncing up and down erratically ruining his calm demeanor. Beside them, Pidge was clacking away rapid speed on their computer, the glare shining off their glasses blocking the sight of their eyes from other's views while they checked all security cameras located throughout the city. Earlier they had seen video footage of Lance being escorted out of the precinct with a very buff police officer into the back of a white Range Rover Sport. They had tracked the license plate number only to realize it was merely a rental from a car company. As Pidge was downloading security feed, Allura, Keith, and Shiro were waiting for more info on anyone who has rented the car. 

"Arghh! This is taking too long! Shiro, we should be out there searching for him! Who knows what could be happening to Lance!" Keith argued as he ran his hands through his hair. God if that son of a bitch even touched him,

Shiro sighed, knowing anything he said was just going to egg his boyfriend on more, yet he too felt incredibly stressed and worried for Lance as well to really hold back.

"Keith I know how you feel but right now we're stuck here until the commissioner makes the call. We're bound by duty and obligations first before we go out there rushing like action-heros. We need to play it smart, every second Lance's body doesn't turn up is a good sign, just remember that." He stated simply for Keith's and his own good. It wasn't the best thing Keith wanted to hear nor himself, but that was the only logical response he could come up with. Because right now, he wanted to punch something..preferably this stalker/killer's face.

Keith groaned as he sank into the chair behind him. Christ he didn't want to wait here but Shiro had a point, they were bound by codes and the law so they needed to wait for proper evidence to show up and arrest their perp.

And they also had to know who their perp was... A fact Allura had told him after the first time Keith had tried to bolt to go find Lance, thinking on instinct if he could chase down the car on his motorcycle, he could catch up.

Thankfully, he didn't actually do that.

"Hey come on, the most we can do here until Pidge gets any info on the plate number is see if we can look into any possible suspects who would take Lance." Shiro offered, one hand falling onto Keith's shoulder in comfort which seemed to help as Keith leaned back into his grip. As the two sat there, reflecting on where to get started first, Allura walked into the room, a bit too cooly which could only suggest she had yet another disagreement with the commissioner about the case.

"Shiro, Keith, I've spoken with the commissioner and thankfully Keith's discovery about the cases being connected has persuaded him to allow us to continue the investigation. He's giving us roughly twenty-four hours to apprehend the butcher until he calls the higher ups for assistance." Allura reported as Keith slammed his hands on the table, outrage written all over his face.

"What does he expect? A miracle? Because I certainly would like one if it helps us find Lance sooner!"

"Keith calm down. We will find him." Allura reassured.

"And we definetly will now that I got pass that rental car company's firewall!" Allura shot Pidge an unamused look before ultimately shrugging her shoulders knowing this was not the day to start that argument.

"Alright, fine. But don't let the commissioner overhear your methods this time. Ugh, I do not want to hear another lecture from him again." Keith and Shiro nodded as well, knowing exactly how the commissioner would feel if one of their own used less than legal means to obtain a criminal.

But then again sometimes that was all they had, and right now, neither Keith or Shiro were against Pidge using their illegal hacking skills to locate their killer. As well as the man they loved. 

******

 

Lance drifted back into awareness with his head pounding like a drum, and vision blurry until everything fuzzily came back into focus. Aside from a single light source that he was lying under, everything else was cast in shadows, faint outlines of objects making it impossible to guess where he was. The last thing he remembered was Lotor's creepy words purring into his ear before a hard force had knocked him out. 

“Wha..where?” Lance started but couldn't find the energy to finish as he tried sitting up only to nearly fall back from how dizzy he was. Geez, the room was spinning way more than him when dropping pirouettes at practice.

‘Where am I? What happened?’ He thought, trying to reach up and run a hand through his bangs to move them away but realized with quickly forming dread, he couldn't move his arms at all. Panicking, Lance was fully awake now as he twisted his arms hoping he could free himself from the ropes twisted and pinning his arms and hands to his torso completely missing the amused figure watching from the shadows in the corner of the room.

“Finally awake I see. Did you have a good rest darling?” Lance glanced up, putting on his best glare that he could manage as his captor stepped into the light with him. He gulped as he tried to scoot away from the approaching figure, squeaking in fright as Lotor stepped on his foot, the one that had been previously injured a few weeks ago, using only the slightest of pressure to force Lance into staying put as the man smirked down at his wincing expression.

“Where are we Lotor? And let me go!” Lance demanded but shivered as those icy blue eyes never left his face, expression set in a mask of want and desire that had Lance wanting to cover himself up despite the fact he was fully clothed.

“Some place safe now dear. One of my father’s old store-houses for his less than legal activities. He hasn’t used it in decades so this seemed like the best choice for us to hide in until I can get us out of the country at least.” Lotor explained kneeling to the ground and reaching to gently cup Lance’s cheek ignoring Lance’s hard flinch. Lance swallowed, internally screaming about Lotor’s cold fingers touching him, those same hands that had tortured and killed others. He paused as the other's words caught up to him.

“Out of the country? To where?” Lance demanded, feeling very confused and a bit offended. He was in a dire situation, one he desperately hoped to get out of, but who the hell thinks they own the right to decide where he goes? He had a career here after all!

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I know you’ve worked so hard for your dancing and modeling which is why your new agent is handling everything so you can find work in Tokyo. I know you don't know the language but that's okay, I will handle everything. As for the dancing, I’m still working on it but good news my love, I own a..club I guess we’ll call it, over in the city and you can dance there till we find you something! How does that sound?” Lotor purred his fingers somehow working themselves through Lance’s hair during his long explanation meanwhile Lance sat there frozen as his fate was decided for him.

“But..I can't I-I only know how to dance ballet!” Lance insisted, feeling tears of frustration and anxiety creep onto the edges of his vision as Lotor nodded along, not seeming to listen at all.

“Yes, and wonderfully so, but we’ll have to build your reputation up a bit. Not to mention you’ll have to keep a low profile, give you a fake name and such. Until then, you’ll fit in with the other dancers at my club and you'll of course be staying with me permanently as well. I’ll have one of my ladies always watching so nothing bad happens to you my love.” Lotor declared as Lance sat there numb, feeling the frustrated tears start to fall from his words. He paused in his wallowing as he recalled something Lotor had said earlier...

“Lotor..you said something about a new agent. What happened to my agent…” Lance hesitated unsure whether he wanted to know where Lotor was going with this.'Oh please tell me he didn't kill Gabriel,' Lance prayed, not wanting another murder on his behalf. Lotor merely smirked as he stood up and snapped his fingers. Lance heard a door opening, hope fluttering in his chest before it was diminished as one of the women from earlier, the amused ponytail one, came in wheeling a rack of clothes behind them, as well as handing Lotor a stack of papers.

"He was fired by me of course. It was the most logical choice so I didn’t have to dispose of another person, and with me as your new agent, we can spend more time together! Don't cry dearest, I don't mind representing you and your beautiful face. I’ll handle all details of your career from now on. Isn’t that exciting?” Lance sat there as dread filled his entire being once again. The tears finally spilled over as Lance realized he would never be free of this madman. He ducked his head, trying to keep his sobbing silent and away from view of his captor but as his shoulders shook, an ugly cry wrenching itself from his lips, he knew he was screwed. Two strong arms gently wrapped themselves around his torso, shoving his head uncomfortably between Lotor’s neck and shoulder as he tried to rub Lance’s back soothingly. His touch leaving chills crawling down his spine as he spoke;

“I can see how overwhelming all these changes are affecting you. This will be a wonderful new chapter in our lives, I promise we will never be apart ever again.” Lotor promised pressing a gentle but creepy kiss to the top of Lance’s trembling head before departing, his eyes never leaving Lance's shuddering form until the door shut behind him, trapping Lance in his prison.

Lance continued sobbing even more, his body shaking with anguish and fright wishing he was anywhere but here with this horrible man. He needed to come up with a plan to get out fast, before it was too late.

 

******

 

"Got it!" Pidge announced, nearly leaping out of their seat rapidly pressing buttons as the printer began humming, doing its job. Pidge raced over to the machine, yanking out the finished paper when it was done and holding it out for her coworkers to see.

"I got the name of the person who rented the car." Pidge explained which brought them closer together so they could look.

"Algra? What kind of name is that?" Keith asked as Shiro frowned, feeling like he heard it before.

"Maybe it's an anagram. I can put it in the system and see if there are any matches in the letters?" Pidge suggested which had the other cops nodding their heads. As Pidge tapped away on the keys, Keith turned to face Shiro curious by his lack of response but seeing the look on his face, Keith knew that could only mean Shiro was deep in thought.

"Shiro?" Keith prompted, a hand raising to place itself on the taller man's shoulder.

"Sorry, it sounds familiar, unusually familiar." He explained, not seeing Keith's concerned look as he was too deep in his thoughts until Pidge called their attentions once more, showing them their screen.

"It should be. The closest match I can find is Galra. As in the Galra gang we've been after for years." Pidge stated. Keith glanced over the information, forcing his mind not to consider the idea of Lance being held hostage by a merciless mafia gang run by the most powerful crime boss in all of Altea City; Zarkon Galra. Shiro himself appeared agitated, if his rigid body posture and wide eyes hadn't given it away already. His mind couldn't stop the memory flashes that popped up from his time going undercover in the gang, the arena fights, the many hours spent worrying his cover would be blown, experimentation, and losing one of his limbs. Shiro shook his head, sweeping those memories away for the moment, knowing right now was not the time to get lost down memory lane, he was back on track with real time avenue and he planned to stay there..hopefully.

"Why would one of the most powerful crime gangs go after Lance? The Galra don't usually kill in this style of the Butcher's. They typically make an example of someone, normally an acquaintance, someone not too close to them, but also someone nobody would miss." Keith pointed out frustrated this was going nowhere until he realized something. "Unless it's somebody using their name to throw us off the trail and hide their identity. But who? There's tons of people out there who hate the Galra." Keith began pacing again trying to wrack his brain for ideas while Pidge hummed, frowning in thought.

"Well, we could start with the first suspect, someone who obviously hates Zarkon enough to go and set him up. His son Lotor Daibazal who changed his name out of spite for his father, would make a good candidate for our first suspect. I pulled up some information about him as well and unsurprisingly, he separates himself from his father's shady business, but apparently he's had a few run-ins in the past for violent tendencies and..peeping tom behavior. One of his neighbors from years ago had filed for a restraining order, all of it was kept hush-hush thanks to his dad's influence." Pidge described as they pulled up a picture of the man. Keith wrinkled his brow at the image, his hair was bright blonde to where it was almost white, a bemused knowing smile planted on his lips that made Keith want to punch him, especially those blue eyes of his, showing coldness and wickedness within, not a hint of kindness unlike Lance's pretty blues.

"What else do you have on this guy?" He asked, brow pursing in thought while Pidge clacked on the keys again, pulling up more information.

"Other than his creepy hobbies, he tends to stay out of the spotlight and frequently makes charitable donations to make amends for his family's good name I suppose."

"What charities are these?" Shiro questioned which had Pidge typing once more before a webpage came up along with a picture of Lotor posing in front of a building, shaking hands with a man and standing amongst other people.

"Holy shit." Pidge stated, their eyes growing wide as saucers before Shiro jerked the computer around to read the info better.

"'Altea Dance Productions gains new charitable donators to sponsor their upcoming productions including notorious fellow patron of arts, Lotor Daibazal.'" Shiro drew back in shock as Keith read over the info quickly and drawing back in fear.

"This can't be a coincidence." He stated as Allura gasped all of them turning to face her as she held up her phone, showing an image from Instagram.

"I scrolled through his feed because I was nosey and he posted a picture two weeks ago inside The Queer Pong, but what really concerns me is the person lurking in the background." She held the phone out to Keith for him to look who took it and zoomed in on the photo, Shiro peering over his shoulder with Pidge standing on a chair to get a look-see. There, in the background, just barely walking by the camera lens was Lance, slightly blurry but still recognizable with his lean form and familiar chocolate locks, facing the bar counter unaware that his photo was currently being taken.

"No."

"There's other photos with Lance in the background as well. Some are a bit more blurry than this one but it's still pretty obvious Lance is the focus in each of them."

"Allura, this is damning evidence. This guy has a criminal record already, has connections to Lance's place of work, and has attended the same place as our past victims. It has to be him." Shiro narrowed his eyes on a particular selfie Lotor took in his bathroom. A bit too confidant there was he?

"Not only that but there were also some photos of the other past victims in his feed, and I just got this weirdo's address as well and," Pidge showed the address to Keith who suddenly looked like he swallowed a sour candy as he cursed everything, their's and Lance's shitty luck included because of fucking course this psycho would happen to own the penthouse in their apartment complex, the very same one that just so happened to look right into Lance's, making getting in and out pretty easy at any time of the day. The man most likely had been watching the night Lance came home with Shiro and Keith in tow, which would give him more incentive to take Lance if he felt there was competition.

"This is definetly our perp. Is there anywhere Lotor would go? He could probably try to leave the country if we don't act fast enough." Shiro wondered with Allura popping up and declaring, "I'm on it," before racing out the door towards the commissioner, probably to tell him about the new discoveries to the case.

"Mm I doubt he'd take Lance back to his apartment, that would be the most obvious choice but we can send a dispatch just to see if anyone is there. Other than that, there's not much else unless he uses some connection of his father's to find a place to stow Lance away." Pidge stated as their fingers danced across the keyboard, the search results popping up with different locations on the map of the city, various places the Galra were known to hang out which would also fit into Lotor's sham of the Galra taking Lance.

"Maybe he's using one of Zarkon's old hideouts. He's used a number of those storage warehouses on the South end for drug trafficking in the past, it's also near the airport in case he'd wanna make a quick escape, and it's far enough away from anyone who could help." Keith noted with Pidge typing in the location as fast as their little fingers could before humming in interest as several spots popped up exactly where Keith mentioned, near the airport.

"So should we send some deputies out to these locations?" Pidge asked, curious but Allura strutted in, the commissioner on her heels.

"We're not sending anyone out until we've stated our case with the commissioner." She muttered, giving the older man the stink eye as he strode in, angry and bitter as usual.

"What? Why? We have a civilian in danger!" Keith argued but the commissioner was hearing none of it.

"You can't go accusing the members of Senator Zarkon's family for murder! Unless we have solid evidence his son is behind all this, I'm not allowing any warrants to search through his things!" He ordered not seeing the angry clench of Keith's fist or Shiro's tightened jaw.

"Fine! Then we'll get some!" Keith yelled back much to the older man's surprise. Before the insulted commissioner could respond, Keith spun back around to face Pidge who jumped as Keith's glare was directed to her.

"Pidge, pull up everything we've discovered about Lotor to share with the commissioner. Also let's get in touch with Altea Dance Productions. They could provide some more info about his sponsorship that could link his interest to Lance." Keith ordered with Pidge jokingly saluting him as if he were the captain and Shiro hanging back watching his boyfriend fondly. It may not be the progress they want right now, but seeing Keith taking charge and standing up to the commissioner was everything to Shiro. He glanced down at one of Lotor's instagram pictures he had taken of the victim, Lance dancing in the background. His bright smile was very noticeable and made him the center focus of the photo. Probably something Lotor had done on purpose. Even with this little delay, Shiro sent a silent plea to Lance hoping he could hold on wherever he was just a bit longer.

They were coming for him. 

 

******

Lance spun as carefully as he could, trying to maintain balance on his tiptoes but his nerves caused him to lose focus several times while Lotor pouted off to the side of the shoot, eyes narrowing as Lance stumbled mid-pose once again.

“Lance you need to focus dearest! We need to update your head-shots now that you have a proper agent! Lets try it again!” He huffed, signaling the cameraman, probably one of his henchmen, to start again. Lance gulped, bare arms shaking from both nerves and the cold as he tried to realign himself back into the pose Lotor had demanded. Light purple bruises shaped like fingers decorated all over his arms and legs, reminders of what happened when he had disobeyed and tried to attack his captor. As Lance tried to will his limbs to stop shaking, stepping into the ballet pose, he wondered how long this would go on, being forced into different outfits only to pose however Lotor wanted him. Currently he was wearing a ballet costume, a very simplified, cheap copy of the costume he wore when he was in _Night and Day_. The powder blue tunic hung from his torso, a bit loose around his stomach and waist where a dark blue translucent wrap skirt was wrapped around his hips, flowing gracefully in the back. His legs were covered in cheap, light blue opaque tights, some loose fabric bits dangling from the skirt almost resembling a jellyfish, fitting since he was a nereid in that performance. Lotor even had a makeup artist come in and do Lance’s makeup professionally, someone shady by Lance's guess since the person ignored every plea Lance made for them to go get help. They had continued drawing over his skin with white lines, creating gorgeous holographic scales, even adding costume glitter to make the designs pop and most importantly; hide the bruises forming along his temples and cheeks. There was some costume jewelry thrown on him as well, some starfish and crystals, a pale blue ribbon choker tied just enough Lance could breath. The worst part of the costume in Lance’s opinion, were the shoes. It was obvious Lotor didn’t know anything about ballet considering the shoes he forced on Lance’s feet, despite his earnest complaints, were too small and obviously not mens ballet shoes. These shoes were dyed a dark blue, with the ribbons and everything that laced up Lance’s legs. They were definitely performance shoes or rather shoes someone would pose and model in but not something Lance would ever be willing to wear again. Thankfully he knew how to tie them, having had to help ballerinas get ready in the past, but the too small shoe was crushing Lance’s toes and feet together, not allowing them to breathe from the cramped space. Also they were brand new, meaning that they were never broken into. Lance could feel the blisters forming whenever he stood.

 "Lotor..can I ask a question?" Lance hesitated a bit timid. It has only been a few hours in this madman's company and already he has yelled and would often strike Lance for 'speaking out of line'. The bruises along his arms and legs were there to prove it. 

"Yes, what is it?" Lotor huffed, foot tapping impatiently.

"Why did you kill all those men before David?" Lance asked cautious. A dark look crossed Lotor's face as he stepped closer, leaving Lance guessing he perhaps said the wrong thing again. As he approached closer, Lance backed up till he was plastered against the wall, cornered like a trapped animal as Lotor simply raised a finger and traced the digit underneath Lance's jaw.

"They reminded me of you in some way, whether they shared some aspect of your beauty, had your one of a kind personality, or they held some interest in you that I could not allow." Lotor stated firmly with Lance shuddering from the intense look he gave him.

"I-interest?"

"They frequented the same sleazy bar that you did. I noticed the looks some of them gave you as if you were some piece of meat for those coyotes to nibble on. I couldn't allow that to happen. It was only a coincidence they all happened to look like you in a way too." Lotor shrugged not thinking anything else of it but Lance pried even further.

"So you killed them? All because they looked like me?" Lance asked incredulous and a bit insulted which had Lotor whipping around, face harsh.

"Of course not! I killed them so they would be more like you!"

Lance stared up in shock and horror as Lotor leaned down to press his forehead to Lance's ignoring the harsh flinch the other made as he tried to back away but was unsuccessful.

"I kept trying to capture your beauty, I'd seen it so many times, through rehearsals at the dance company, on the dvd's of your performances, any advertisement that had your photo on it. I tried visiting many times, as you know, at your apartment but also at the dance company, watching you dance and stretch unaware of my burning affections for you. It was cowardly of me to not approach you then, but I was so shy at the thought of meeting you, getting to gaze into those lovely sapphires head on as they have captured my heart that has never yearned for anyone else ever. It was a little desperate of me I'll admit to kill those men and write those poems, especially when I could have easily just taken you anytime I wanted, but I wanted you to meet me first, to get to know me. Yet, you never noticed me in the background, watching you as you stretched at night, retrieved your mail, stopped for coffee at that tacky little coffee house."

Lance breathed through his nose, trying to take all this in, but found it harder and harder not to launch himself at Lotor and attack him as the weirdo kept going on about his unhealthy infatuation.

"When I finally took the plunge and decided we needed to meet officially, I had hoped to ease you into the relationship first by acting as your patron and then slowly introducing to you the idea of us together." Lotor spoke so lovingly and soft, his caress as gentle as his voice before his grin became bruising, clenching Lance's jaw tight, despite his whimpers.

"And then that slut David dared tried to take that innocence away from you! Trying to taint your purity and grace with his wicked ways! And don't even get me started on your little police lineup you've seemed to attract. Don't think you'll be let off the hook for whoring yourself around to the 'blue lives matter' brigade! No matter, I have you in my grasp now and I don't ever plan on letting go. As a matter of fact, once we're done with this shoot, I'll fetch us a contract and a marriage license, to speed things along before our move. A nice honeymoon in Japan. How does that sound sweetheart?" Lotor kissed Lance's temple, trailing gross, cold kisses along Lance's hairline who protested by shaking his head no, trying to pull back from Lotor's advances.

"No! Please, I don't want this! Lotor there is no us! I don't love you!" Lance cried out, gaze hardening until a loud smack and sudden throbbing pain to his cheek had him blinking in surprise only to flinch upon seeing Lotor's steely eyes, mouth set in a tight frown.

"You don't mean that. You've no idea what you want, or what you're saying for that matter." Lotor's eye twitched violently as Lance ducked his head nervously from hearing the underlying threatening tone.

“I think we need to take a break for a few minutes since someone needs time to think about what he really wants from our partnership!” Lotor's voice crescendoed, echoing across the room before he grabbed Lance by the elbow, quickly escorting and shoving Lance into his dressing room where he collapsed shakily to his knees. Hearing the door being locked and Lotor stomping away, yelling unintelligible curses on the other side, Lance crawled his way over to the vanity lifting himself into the chair miserably before yanking the ties to his shoes off and tossing the offending footwear away as he sat there staring unhappily at his reflection. He took in the makeup designs, the costume, and combined with the overall situation he was in, Lance broke down once more, not caring how unhappy Lotor will be when he sees Lance had ruined his makeup. Folding his arms on the table he placed his aching head into them as he began to cry, hoping, wishing for someone or pair of someones to come rescue him. It was clear by now, there was no way he was going to get out on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was decent, I'm tired and gotta go to bed. Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks like this mystery is solved gang™️ and Lance has had enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note there are some new tag additions to this fic, keep yourselves safe yall. Also if you noticed(or mabe not for all I know), I've added a chapter so this is not the second to last chapter, I mean it technically is because Chapter 19 I've decided is going to be the epilogue, I don't feel like making that a separate fic anymore cuz I have alot of fics piling up on my dashboard so chapter 18 is still the final chapter, chapter 19 will be the epilogue. Glad thats cleared up.
> 
> Enjoy~

"Pretty impressive presentation back there." 

"Oh my god, Shiro."

"What? It's not everyday you see a detective threaten to release the police commissioners's internet browsing history to the public. Who knew he'd be the type to fancy ASMR videos of people eating." Shiro chuckled as Keith rolled his eyes, a small smirk upon his face as the other drove. They were currently heading to Lotor's penthouse, warrant granted and everything with another task force team following behind.

"Um, hello? I was the one who did all the work by finding that history to begin with? Keith just threatened the man with his scary emo frown." Pidge popped up from the backseat, giving both men an angry glare that had Keith rolling his eyes once more.

"Yes okay, you're right Pidge. I'll give you my coffee privileges for a whole month after this." Keith sighed as Pidge fist pumped while cheering, "Yes!".

"Just don't mix it with any Red Bulls claiming 'its for science' anymore after the last incident." Shiro warned as Pidge scoffed.

"Fine, okay DAD. Jesus, like I don't get enough crap from Matt about it." They muttered earning an affronted look from Shiro and a snort from Keith.

"You do tell alot of dad jokes." Keith informed him chuckling as Shiro's frown deepened.

"I'm not putting up with this. At least Lance likes my jokes." Shiro grumbled earning a soft 'aww' as Keith mockingly pat his shoulder, an action that had Shiro grumbling under his breath much to Keith's amusement.

Soon they arrived at their destination. Quickly and quietly, they stalked up the stairs towards the penthouse apartment building, taking back exits and emergency exits, covering every inch until finally the moment came they were waiting outside Lotor's door. Their gazes on each other, Shiro and Keith nodded towards the other, gazes set as Shiro swiftly turned and kicked the door open, door breaking off from a few of its hinges.

Swiftly, cops filed in one by one with guns raised immediately scouring every nook and cranny as the detectives filed in carefully, weapons of their own in their hands and glancing around. Lotor's penthouse was neat and very minimalistic decor wise. It was probably too neat and tidy, looking more like a showroom than an actual apartment someone lived in that had the cops wondering if Lotor had even been living here at all.

"Sir," Shiro glanced over to one cop who was holding up a basket of items, most what looked to be DVD's. "You may want to look at this." Walking over and putting his gun away, knowing for sure Lotor wasn't there in the apartment, Shiro gazed over the items, his frown becoming more pronounced as he studied them. Keith spent his time exploring the place, the open floor concept made it easy to see that Lotor was obviously not there and neither was Lance which sent Keith drifting towards the hallway, leading towards the bedrooms to investigate further.

Pidge shuffled their way over by Shiro, taking the tablet sitting out on the coffee table for a quick look through and to possibly access the device somehow, theres no telling what Pidge will do when handed a piece of tech in their hands. Shiro continued his small raid through the basket, it had been stuffed under the couch, ready to be pulled out when ready for viewing. Shiro picked out one movie, noting it was a ballet recital. Uneasiness began to settle in his gut as he immediately put the movie in the tv and turned the device on, waiting for the film to start.

Sure enough, there was a stage, the curtain opening as classical music played through the speakers. Dancers began gracefully spinning and turning across the stage, a few moves Shiro recognized as the ones Lance had shown him the other night. As he sat there wondering what the purpose of owning this could be, he recognized one dancer spinning and twirling in the background, limbs moving as if he were underwater. He didn't stand out particularly, but Shiro could recognize that form anywhere. Quickly, he glanced through the other movies, recognizing a few as ballet recitals, all from Altea Dance Productions and one simply marked as _'Lance's Audition Tape'_. Shiro quickly took that one out of its package, replacing the disc in the TV for the audition one, he hurriedly pressed play and watched in horror as a grainy screen from a camcorder displayed a bubbly, younger version of Lance, who looked no older than eight years old. His freckles were more prominent and splattered across his cheeks, showing off his babyish face. Braces gleamed in the light as the little boy smiled, it was such an adorable, familiar smile it almost had Shiro cooing in awe if it were not for the alarming reminder that Lotor somehow owned a copy of this. The Lance on the screen began earnestly talking about a career in ballet, demonstrating a few moves that while weren't quite as impressive as the moves he can do today, they were still pretty good for someone his age.

 _"Lance do you have any interests outside of ballet?"_ A kind voice asked as Lance twirled in place, obviously having a hard time staying still from excitement. Lance tilted his head as if in deep thought, small tongue poking out just a bit which had Shiro chuckling at the resemblance to the Lance he knows. Finally after a brief thought, Lance began hopping up and down, obvious excitement written on his face.

 _"I like watching crime shows with my older brother and sister! Mama said I shouldn't be watching them, but they let me anyway! I wanna be a cop too someday! I'll dance ballet and be a cop! Veronica says I can only pick one, but I'm gonna do both!"_ He puffed his chest out proudly much to the amusement of the interviewer who chuckled off screen, and Shiro, whose heart warmed just from watching it on the TV screen.

 _"Well, I think that's a great goal to have Lance and with your spirit, I'm sure you'll achieve anything you put your mind to. For that, I think you'll make an excellent addition to our academy."_ The interviewer stated and Shiro watched on in fond amusement as TV Lance gasped, eyes bright and shining with enthusiasm before leaping at the woman, giving her a big hug as he thanked her over and over. The screen flashed to static and then black as Shiro stood there, basking in the adorableness that he just watched as well as a sinking fear of wondering how Lotor even got ahold of something like this..unless,

He deliberately took it from Lance's apartment. That would explain the random break-ins Lance had.

With a steely resolve, Shiro placed the movie back in its case, handing it off to another cop for evidence as Pidge continued to tap around the tablet, trying to get pass the device's passcode system. "Make sure this is bagged as evidence." Shiro handed the DVD over to the nearest cop who nodded while pulling out a bag as Shiro turned to face Keith who came back from his exploration, looking miffed and also a bit paler than usual.

"Keith?" Shiro asked, his brow furrowing in concern as Keith merely nodded his head towards the hallway he came from.

"There's some things you should see." Was all he said before quickly guiding Shiro and Pidge who curiously wanted to see what Keith's haunted reaction was about, still typing away on the tablet as the trio headed towards a room next to the master suite.

"Apparently, this is where Lotor hung out the most with his 'hobby'," Keith growled out the last word, agitated that such a creep would go to the lengths he did considering this room was decorated with pictures of Lance, magazines and ads with his face on them, and various tools, or instruments, wrapped carefully in fabric leading Keith to suspect these were the murder weapons used by the Butcher to torture and kill his victims. He eyed a particular sharp gleaming butcher knife hanging up on the wall next to a huge stack of dance magazines, noticeably, they were all the exact same issue.

With caution, Shiro carefully peeled one from the top of the stack, flipping through it only to see the very same photo of Lance that Lotor had used to cut out the eyes and place them over his victims. There were even some with the eyeholes missing already bagged up for evidence as Shiro explored the room further, Keith pointing out several other disturbing features inside the room. On a bulletin board, were several hi-res photos taken by a professional camera based on the quality of the photos which all featured Lance in his day-to-day life from simply walking down some street, hanging out with Hunk at his coffeeshop, or doing yoga in his apartment. Keith finally plucked one photo off the board, making a ghastly face of horror before showing it to Shiro who became paralyzed on the spot, terror taking over every other emotion he had upon seeing the photo's content.

It was a picture of Lance asleep. This one unlike the others, wasn't taken from afar, but rather up close, showing off the wrinkles on his sheets and pajamas, hair mussed up and eye mask askew just the slightest from heavy sleep. You could see every faint freckle that was dotted along Lance's nose and cheekbones. To think this monster was that close to Lance at his most vulnerable, left a sick feeling spreading throughout Shiro's stomach, the hairs along his arms rising from goosebumps. With the photo clenched between his fingers, he passed it off to another officer, with more officers filing into the room to investigate as Shiro's eyes trailed over a desk with several papers laying on it as well as a framed picture of Lance in typical headshot pose, smiling pleasantly towards the camera.

Picking up a few of the papers, Shiro gave them a glance over as Keith barked orders for the officers to collect everything as much as they can, some even taking photos of the crime scene while Pidge still fiddled with the tablet, utter concentration marking their face.

"Keith take a look at this." Shiro offered, holding out the papers for his boyfriend to grab as he continued looking through some that were still scattered on the desk. Curious, and a little unnerved wondering what other creepy hobby Lotor had taken up involving Lance but as he read the first few sentences he relaxed only to frown in confusion.

"It's a letter or bill..talking about some building over on fifty-seventh near the harbor. Aren't there mostly empty warehouses over in that section?" He asked with Pidge answering a resolute yes. The small detective walked over to the two, tablet in hand as they showed them the display, a map on the screen with a blinking dot that was currently active.

"I tried tracking Lotor's wifi signal, assuming the rich prick hadn't thrown his phone away yet and he's over at that building Keith mentioned right now. I also looked at some of the papers and turns out they're receipts for things like studio lighting equipment, a very expensive camera, and money to hire a seamstress. My hunch is that's his hideout which means," Shiro frowned.

"That's where he's keeping Lance."

"Well lets go! I'm not leaving him alone for one more second with that maniac!" Keith stated, ready to bolt for the door when Shiro gripped a hand on his shoulder, pausing his fiery boyfriend with a cautious look.

"Hold on, we need to radio Allura of the details and tell her and the commissioner what we've found so far. In order to take Lotor down, we'll need all the help we can get. Lance is pretty strong himself, I'm counting on that strength to help him survive and for my own peace of mind as well." Shiro gently placed a hand on Keith's shoulder, giving him a dour expression that matched the mood of the overall situation since entering Lotor's apartment.

Keith ultimately sighed resigned before leaning into Shiro's grip, feeling weak and wanting something, or rather someone, to give him the desired strength to hold himself back.

Because once he saw Lotor in person, he doubted that there was anything in this world that was going to stop him from putting a bullet in Lotor's skull.

"Uh..hey guys? You may want to take a look at this." Pidge stated uneasily from the other side of the room. Shiro and Keith glanced in her direction, noting she was now standing on the other side of the desk, a mini-fridge sitting idly next to it. Curious, both cops knelt down, wondering what could possibly make steely, cold Pidge uneasy of all things until they saw the jar Pidge was holding in their gloved hands.

The jar Pidge held was just an average mason jar, but it was filled with a clear liquid, possibly a formaldehyde mixture, as it contained two milky white balls floating inside, slowly the balls spun in the water as they were being handled to reveal the irises pinning Shiro and Keith in their places frozen as they stared back at the eyes.

"Holy shit."

"Well if that isn't evidence alright." Shiro muttered, he turned to the fridge, reaching inside to grab another jar with the same contents only the eyes were green instead of brown like the ones Pidge was holding.

"Look, Lotor even labeled them. This says, 'Reyes' and even has the date before he was found murdered!" Pidge stated happily much to Keith's grimace as Shiro read his jar.

"Escara, 6/23. This was the second victim's. So this is where their eyes went. Lotor's keeping mementos of his kills." Shiro stated unsurprised by that statement. It was pretty common for most serial killers to keep a souvenir of their victims. As creepy as it is, it made for damning evidence and made convictions much easier to pin on them.

"Wait, so you know how Lotor's been obsessed with this eye motif, particularly Lance's? What's stopping him from killing Lance if he could just take his eyes and preserve them?" Pidge asked as they slightly shook the jar, watching the eyes bob around as if it was some fucked up snow globe. Keith frowned, doubting their statement given how much he was aware of Lotor's stalking. "I don't think he would kill Lance, especially since he's been obsessively stalking him, believing them to be in love."

"Yeah but Lotor's not just a stalker, he's capable of doing so much more and if he reacts like any stalker whose been rejected, whats stopping him from killing Lance if he rejects Lotor to a point where Lotor just kills him and takes his eyes. Those poems he sent weren't just to be flattering. If Lance puts up too much of a fight, Lotor might just end it all." Pidge pointed out as Shiro and Keith thought it over, fear overtaking them once more since they came across the photo of sleeping Lance. With the briefest of pauses filled with terror, Shiro finally stood up, handing the jar he was holding to another officer, ignoring his squeamish grimace before giving Keith a stern look of determination.

"Call Allura right now and tell her everything. We're going to that warehouse to confront Lotor right now. Every minute counts now the longer Lance is with that man. With the evidence we found, the commissioner can't deny Lotor's involvement now." Shiro ordered and immediately everyone scattered, not wanting to waste a single second.

 

******

 

A gentle rap on the door echoed throughout the small quiet room just before Lotor entered, a benign smile on his face with a cup that was steaming, as well as a bag with a quirky logo design on the front that had Lance's eyes widening from recognition.

"Darling, I've come to apologize for my..response earlier. I behaved quite atrociously and wanted to make it up to you. I know you usually enjoy going to this little bakery so I've brought you some of their most popular treats." Lotor offered giving Lance a dazzling smile as Lance blinked at him, completely stupefied by this man honestly.

"You kidnapped me, undressed me and then put on some silly costumes, and beat me..and you're apologizing with what? A muffin?" Lance asked incredulous as Lotor nodded.

"I know I completely lost my cool back there and I fully intend to make it up to you once we're in Japan, but since our flight will be leaving in a few hours I didn't want the plane ride to be awkward with any animosity between us." Lance gaped at him, eyes wide, completely flabbergasted.

"A-animosity... You kidnapped me!" Lance accused, rubbing his temples as a headache began to form behind his eyes. God he was so sick of this man.

"True, but I did it out of love." Lotor reasoned sidling up closer to sit at the vanity across from Lance who was now cornering himself on the makeshift cot in his small prison. Lance scoffed, unseeing the flare of anger that sprouted in Lotor's eyes as he turned his head away, nose stuck in the air.

"That's no excuse to kidnap someone asshole! I want to go home!" Lance demanded pulling his knees up to his chest, to act as some sort of barrier while Lotor sighed, smoothing a hair through his silky locks. 

"The answer shockingly, is no. Now here, you should probably eat something, it's going to be a long flight." Lotor handed the cup and bag over, noticeably stepping back to give his captive some space with Lance suspiciously eying the items. Of course like anyone with some sense if they were in his situation, he would have just knocked the cup over and tossed the food away, not wanting to give Lotor any satisfaction whatsoever. Unfortunately, there were a few factors that held Lance back from actually doing that, one being that who knows what Lotor would do given his obvious rage issues. Secondly, Lance was fucking famished. He wasn't exactly certain on when he was taken or what time it currently was now, but he did know it had probably been at least eight hours since he last ate something which was just coffee, so yeah he wasn't throwing out a fucking bagel, especially since that recognizable logo meant it came from Hunk's bakery.

A small part of Lance secretly wished there was a note in the bag(or better yet a weapon of some sort) that stated there would be help coming, possibly in the form of a SWAT team busting down the doors, there wasn't, but he still smiled when he spotted a simple scone, lighting up when he realized it was one of Hunk's walnut baklava's. He quickly took the scone out, nearly releasing a pleased moan after feeling how warm it still was but immediately caught himself in time, not wanting Lotor to get any satisfaction out of this only for him to run off and jack himself off later. Lord knows how many times he's already done that.

Wanting to stop that thought direction, Lance took an eager bite, barely chewing the scone before swallowing, he completely ignored or tried to ignore Lotor's presence, nearly growling at the man who stood back up and offered the cup he came in with.

"Some tea I picked up there as well. I know you usually prefer coffee but I figured you'd want something more..relaxing instead." Lotor explained lovingly, unseeing the distrust in Lance's eyes who carefully took the offered drink, making sure their fingertips didn't touch.

"Okay..." Lance stated unsure. He removed the lid, peering inside the cup seeing only the drink and not smelling anything weird either. Lance deemed it safe enough to take a sip, finding the taste of chamomile the same as usual as it warmed his insides. Closing his eyes to enjoy the taste more, he could almost pretend he was back at home, relaxing on the couch after a long day at the studio, soft music drifting throughout the apartment, his window open and the curtains billowing gently from the light breeze. He wished he was there, enjoying something similar, with both Shiro and Keith sharing the small couch space with him, all their limbs tangled together just enjoying the peace they could've had.

Can have, he meant. There was still hope someone will realize he's missing.

A slight cough drew his attention back to his situation which had Lance glaring up at Lotor who was standing in front of him now, almost expectedly.

"Was the tea to your liking? I'm glad, I know how flighty you can be and once everything's ready I want you to be as nice and quiet as possible during our plane ride which is why I added something extra to your tea." Lotor smirked as Lance glanced quickly at his cup and back at him, realization dawning on him that Lotor had spiked his tea with something.

"What the fuck did you put in here?" Lance demanded, now enacting on his earlier wish by throwing the tea across the room, no longer thirsty or hungry at all, tossing the baklava towards Lotor's head who simply dodged it.

"Rohypnol. Should make you pliant enough to get you on board the jet. If we're going to be crammed into one space together for seven hours, as much as I'd love the thought of that, you still need some time to get settled with your new arrangement apparently. I'll only use it if its absolutely necessary though." Lotor stated, brushing a finger across Lance's cheekbone who shuddered away only to find his back met the concrete wall very quickly meaning he had nowhere to go and Lotor was quickly crowding against him. Knowing he was going to be out of it pretty soon, Lance turned towards his captor once more, hoping and wishing with the slimmest of chances that he would listen to reason.

"Lotor, please. I don't love you, I don't want to go to Japan! I won't tell anyone it was you, I'll lie and say I woke up alone and can't remember! Please." Lance breathed, eyes imploring as Lotor gazed back seemingly impassive.

"Oh how those blue eyes sway me so...Haunting me in my dreams, everywhere I look, I'm reminded of them, of your beauty, and that I can't let them out of my sight." He muttered as if he were under a spell. His hand now fully cupping one side of Lance's face who wanted to turn and bite it but thinking this might be his last chance he merely tilted his head instead, gazing up at Lotor hoping whatever had entranced the man would be enough to persuade him to let him go.

"Please Lotor..." Lance whispered quietly between them enough so only they could hear his pleas. Lance had hoped his little scheme was working but as Lotor bent down getting closer to Lance's face, his heart nearly stopped as a slow, demented smile worked its way onto his stony expression, scaring the wits out of Lance as the other chuckled spitefully.

"Nice try my little bluebird. We're getting on that plane and we'll start our new lives together, you will never leave my side. I'll keep you hidden away to never see the daylight again if I have to. You either agree to it now and be my docile little dancer, or it will be nothing but pain and torture from here on out. What's it going to be Lance? Because quite frankly, I'd hate to clip a pretty bird's wings when it keeps trying to escape its golden cage of comfort and safety. I'm only doing what's best for you my sweet." Lotor reminded him harshly, his hand sneaking up to grip Lance's hair, yanking him closer as Lance cried out in pain.

"Do I make myself clear darling?" Lotor asked as Lance gasped, struggling to lesson his grip. Feeling hopeless and a bit fatigued, faintly realizing the drug was kicking in, Lance merely nodded weakly, the last bit of fight leaving him as Lotor let go of his hair only to watch as Lance fell back against the cot breathing heavily, too exhausted to move suddenly.

Lance panted, feeling hot and sluggish throughout his body as he watched Lotor through the narrowed slits of his eyes. The man chuckled bemused before sitting down at the vanity, crossing his arms and legs as he waited patiently for Lance to fall asleep, to do who knows what to him afterwards. Reflecting on everything that had transpired within the last twenty minutes, Lance waited as hopelessness filled him, knowing he would wake up still in Lotor's grasp, probably on a plane or maybe even in Japan, with no hope of ever escaping this man. No hope of ever seeing his friends, family, or coworkers.

No hope of seeing Shiro and Keith's smiles directed towards him ever again.

 

                                                                                                 *******

 

Seeing his beautiful bluebird struggling to keep his eyes open like that had Lotor wondering just how long having to wait for the all-clear signal from Axca was going to take. Checking his watch, noting the late hour as the big hand approached closer to twelve, he sighed his gaze once more glued to the object of his affections sprawled out on the makeshift cot. He was still wearing that costume set from the photoshoot earlier, Lotor's eyes raked over his form appreciatively, pausing a little longer as they gazed up Lance's calves and thighs, his hand twitching with the urge to trace every curve and dip of muscle in those powerful limbs. 

He breathed harshly through his nose, clenching his fists as he scolded himself. He had restricted himself to glances and simple eye-fucking, wishing he could just reach out and grab those hips, rip off those tight leggings that exposed every inch of Lance's perky ass so Lotor could ram his rod so to speak into the other, marking Lance to stake his claim, let everyone know that this gorgeous creature was his and his alone.

As if those silly little cops had a chance.

The idea of them touching Lance again had Lotor fuming, clenching his thigh as he restrained himself from reaching over and grabbing Lance right then. He wanted their first time to be special after all, and whats more special than obtaining the marriage license than fucking the ever loving shit out of Lance till he couldn't even remember his own name. He wanted the other to beg, to plead for Lotor to end it, to fill him up and later beg for cuddles and whispers of sweet-nothings into his ear as he fell asleep curled up next to him. Sure Lance was resisting, he also bit him harder than Lotor had been expecting but his beloved would soon come around. Once he saw he was in Japan, he'll change his tune immediately.

Or Lotor would have to do something drastic. Smiling once more, Lotor stood up, brushing an imaginary speck of lint off his rich clothes before crossing the small distance between him and the cot, taking a seat on the edge and leaning down to cup Lance's face gently in one hand, the other softly caressing the silky strands on top of his head with Lance struggling to follow his movements, the drug apparently working through his system.

"Don't fight it sweetheart. Soon we'll be married and starting our new life in Japan. You're going to love it, just as you'll eventually love me." Lotor whispered, leaning down to plant a small kiss upon Lance's forehead who shook beneath him, eyes gazing but unseeing as they focused on a particular spot by the door. Lotor continued to sit there, fingers still carding through Lance's hair as he began humming a light tune, hoping his humming would encourage his beloved to sleep more. As Lance seemed to relax against the cot, Lotor paused, hearing a slight commotion outside the room that had him straining his hearing, trying to listen better.

Was that..sirens?

Just as he questioned that noise, a head popped in, one he knew instantly to be Axca his second in command. Her eyes trailed over Lance's sleepy form before drawing her attention back to him, face serious and ready for orders.

"Sir there are dozens of police cars heading this way. Should we make our escape to our second hideout? The jet is still not ready for lift off. Someone tipped off the police, or they found out you were leaving somehow. If we don't leave now it seems we'll be delayed." She stated as Lotor frowned, not expecting this outcome. Well, beggars can't be choosers.

"Get the van started, we'll have to evacuate at once. I didn't get this far only to fail now of all times with my precious jewel by my side." Lotor ordered. Axca nodded her head before ducking out, Lotor could hear her murmuring the plan just outside the door, most likely explaining the orders to his other subordinates, his most trusted ones at best. He glanced back over at Lance, gaze sweeping over the anxiously breathing man, who seemed awake more than before once Axca popped in.

"Go to sleep darling, everything will be alright, I promise you." Lotor swore, a hand gently sweeping across Lance's cheek, ignoring the waiver in the other's breathing before finally exiting the room to join the commotion.

He'd have plenty of time later with his precious jewel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this is a nail biter guys, also I procrastinated putting this chapter out cuz I'm pretty sure part me of me doesn't want this fic to end either, but we all gotta move on eventually and I think the Voltron fandoms dying out quickly and moving on to other things, which isnt a bad thing, it just decreases motivation to continue writing sometimes knowing others aren't still interested in the things I want to write about. Thankfully there's still some interest out there, and I haven't lost interest to finish my stuff, so don't worry about me never finishing a fic, or at least this one cuz, I enjoyed writing this story, I've never written a polyamorous couple before and it most likely shows but I simply LOVED writing this fic and shklance is a great ot3 imo( i also like several others, im not very picky with ships). 
> 
> If anyone is still reading this, I'm just venting now, getting my thoughts in order but I have this idea for aus focusing more towards ghosts/demons where one is a shance a/b/o fic with psychic omega lance who can talk and see ghosts and this fic ive had for YEARS where pidge is affected by some kind of plant on a mission and winds up possessed, some kind of galra super weapon tactic to turn the paladins against each other, and the whole fic is just creepiness, bordering on mental illness a little bit but mostly i wanted to write pidge being a badass creepy while spider crawling on the ceiling, escaping through the castle vents and scaring the shit out of her teammates. you know, the whole level 10 demon shenanigans every teenage girl goes through. I'd like to write them but at the same time, how do write lol. I also entertained the idea of making a sort of oneshot fic where i just post oneshots of ideas to this one fic but im still hesitant on that as well. Any thoughts are welcome, I'd love to discuss more of my shance au in particular since it also involves kuron in some way.just come chat with me on tumblr, shoot me an ask or whatever its called and I'll basically tell you all about it. Jesus this is long I'm sorry, I wonder if anyones reading this..hello my baby hello my honey, hello my ragtime gallllll. Hehe.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Keith and Shiro get to Lance on time or will Lotor get away with his obsessive desire for Lance? Will Lance be okay? Find out on the next episode of The Young and the Restless! 
> 
> Nah jk, also Veronica's here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I wrote Veronica and Lance's relationship weird, I apologize I only have one sibling, and we don't talk ever, so I don't have a good sibling relationship to base their interactions off of other than the show. Also, I'm the walking stereotype of an Aquarius and don't handle emotions well because I hate them :D!
> 
> Moving on!

_"Calling all units to respond to code 126 at fifty-seventh. Suspects might be armed."_

Keith stepped on the gas pedal, sirens blaring as several other cop cars followed behind him and Shiro. He could hear the distant sirens from others racing to join them at the warehouse, knowing every police squad within the area must've received the same dispatch code from the police commissioner.

After calling Allura and informing her as well as the police commissioner what they had found in Lotor's apartment, the evidence was now irrefutable. The whole squad had jumped into action, and Keith couldn't blame them for being so pumped. The notorious Blue-Eyed Butcher was finally identified, and everyone was hoping by the end they'd see him in handcuffs. No one else dreamed for that wish to become reality more than Keith, who'd been haunted by this case since that first murder was discovered and he knew they were dealing with something different from their average homicide. Suited up with their bullet proof gear and gun holsters, Keith could only hope that nothing would go wrong with their apprehension of Lotor, hoping as every second went by that Lance was still alive and breathing by the time they got there.

After finally approaching the docks at the harbor, warehouses standing lonely and cold, Keith felt like it had been an hour since they left Lotor's when it had actually only been twenty minutes once they were given the all-clear to apprehend Lotor. As Keith pulled in alongside other cops cars, all forming a semi circle along the warehouse supposedly housing the criminal and his hostage, forming a blockade. Keith and Shiro wasted no time jumping out of the squad car, guns whipped out with such speed and focused on the doors, matching their stance alongside their comrades who all filed out military style, weapons at the ready. Another squad car rolled up, Allura jumping out, decked out in a bullet proof vest over his pristine suit without the jacket, hand out and ready as a lackey handed her a megaphone. With confidant strides, she marched up to one cop car that was parked the closest, in case she needed to duck for cover as she pulled the phone up to her mouth, voice harsh and biting as the chilly wind coming from the harbor's waters. 

"We've got you surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" Allura demanded through the use of the megaphone. Keith waited, gun at the ready with others following suit but the warehouse remained undisturbed.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Keith continued to watch the door, eyes glancing over every single inch of the building while Allura messaged on the radio for her squad to fan out, Shiro ordering for his squad to do the same as well.

Brow sweating from the tension, Keith glanced over at Shiro who, of course was right by his side, frowning in concentration as they neared the door. With both of them on either side of the entrance along with several other officers, there was a solemn count to three before one officer kicked the door only to duck out of the way as a burst of bullets flew past the door. Shiro immediately ducked down further to avoid any stray bullets as Keith did the same. They waited with bated breath as the bullets died down where Keith took the opportunity to roll in quickly only to duck behind a stray crate and avoid the next round of shots that followed him. Shiro followed suit as well as a few other officers, slowing advancing on the culprits as they can. Usually in cases like these where they have the bad guy cornered, as bad as it was to get hit by a bullet, it could add to their benefit because most often, bad guys with guns would unload many rounds only to wind up with no weapon and quickly surrender. So even though Keith wanted so badly to just jump up, get a hit in and duck behind another object, he knew he had to play it safe and smart like Shiro, who once had to drill that into his head back in their early days on the force.

"Keith, Allura says some officers have a visual on Lotor and a few of his men. Once these guys are done we're going to move in on our perps. Once these guys are apprehended, we need to find out where Lotor is keeping Lance, his safety is our number one priority." Shiro explained to which Keith nodded. They waited as the bullets died down once again, nothing but silent tension in the air until Keith heard his radio beep and he listened in on Allura's instructions, having heard the sighting was a false alarm, meaning Lotor was still lurking around somewhere.

Most likely he was with Lance.

The idea had Keith gripping the trigger of his gun, and with a nod from Shiro, who sent out orders to his squad, the two of them plus a few others moved in on the shooter.

Luckily with the warehouse not being very large or having many rooms or hallways, they quickly located the shooter, a young woman who quickly surrendered having run out of bullets like they expected. As she was being handcuffed, her radio beeped, an accented voice coming through the speaker that had Shiro gripping it, listening intently.

_"Ezor, meet halfway around back with Zethrid and get the car started, Lance is almost out so we'll sneak past the cops once they're distracted enough with the false lead information and head to the airport."_

Shiro frowned, knowing this was definetly Lotor they were speaking to. Turning towards the criminal supposedly Ezor, he held out the radio to her giving her a death glare that made her gulp in fear just a bit.

"Contact your boss, ask him where Lance is, and maybe you'll get your sentence reduced after this is all done." He demanded, moving the radio away as she tried to swipe it back. The woman frowned, casually shrugging and refusing to help which just pissed Keith off as he stood towering over her.

"Talk to him and we'll get both yours and this Zethrid person's sentences reduced for aiding the police. They mean something to you, right?" Keith asked which caused Ezor to fidget playing right into his detective trap as she finally sighed and nodded.

"As long as she gets a reduced sentence fine. Give me that radio." She demanded which Shiro held it up out of reach, pressing the button to talk as Ezor leaned in and spoke, "Lotor, I need your's and Lance's location." They waited a brief moment before it lit up with yet another new message coming through, the voice bringing goosebumps to Keith's skin even under the heavy clothes and bullet vest.

_"The old director's office. We're hiding out in here for now. I've only got a few rounds of ammo on me at the moment."_

Shiro and Keith glanced at each other before they gave the radio back to another officer, some were already handcuffing Ezor, reading her Miranda Rights and everything, but Keith couldn't care about all that because his main focus right now was getting to that office to find Lance.

If Lotor so much as touched one hair on his head...

Shiro and Keith ducked down one hall, probably the only hall in this whole building where there were about three rooms total; one with a door opened that was the bathroom which meant Lotor could be hiding in either of the two remaining rooms.

"Keith you take that door and I'll take this one." Shiro whispered with Keith nodding in response. They both lined up outside their respective doors, giving each other nods wishing the other to be safe before giving both doors synchronized kicks, busting them open, even knocking them off their hinges slightly. The two men entered, their weapons raised and ready to fire.

Keith gazed around his room, it was bare except for a few chairs, one of them turned over. Ultimately there was nothing so he turned to gaze at Shiro only to see him in Weaver stance, his arms holding his pistol out and gaze locked on the target inside who Keith couldn't see. He raced over, his own gun held tight in his hands as he took on a similar stance to Shiro's, eyes zeroing on Lotor who sat on a cot next to Lance, raking a hand through Lance's hair with Lance looking like he was half asleep, eyes unfocused and mouth opened in soft breaths. He looked like he had been drugged which had Keith incredibly concerned, wondering what Lotor gave him but his concerns for Lance were interrupted as Lotor spoke, his voice just as chilling as it sounded on the radio.

"I should've known it would be the 'fan club' to come after me. Your infatuations with Lance is really pathetic given he's mine." He spoke condescendingly, an amused scoff escaping his lips as his hand continued its activity of combing through Lance's locks, pausing just the slightest to stroke his temple which drew out a breathy gasp from the Lance's lips. Keith frowned wanting to demand the creep to get away from him, but he knew that he shouldn't engage Lotor no matter what, that he was just toying with them.

But man did he really want to punch this dick.

"Lotor, it's over. Step away from Lance. The whole warehouse is surrounded, your subordinates have been arrested. There's nowhere to go now." Shiro calmly spoke but Keith could see the vein nearly popping from his boyfriend's temple and neck meaning he was tense and also incredibly angry.

"You'll look foolish when I take you and the whole city police department to court for arresting me for simply taking my lover with me overseas." Lotor hissed, his hackles raising now as he stood up, blocking Lance from them and about to pull out his own weapon when Shiro took aim and shot towards Lotor's foot, making the man wince and stumble back, enough time for Keith to use the distraction to get in close..and land possibly one of the best uppercuts he's ever given to anyone ever.

Lotor's head snapped back, a satisfying crunch heard that echoed throughout the small room as the man stumbled and fell to his knees. As Keith leaned down about to read him his Miranda Rights, Lotor's arm twitched, about to grab his gun that had fallen just out of reach when Shiro leaped forward to pin the criminal down, wrestling for just the briefest of seconds that felt like minutes only to also land a hard punch to Lotor's temple, effectively knocking the man out underneath him. As Shiro radioed Allura letting her know the situation, Keith turned his attention towards Lance, still looking loopy and on the verge of falling asleep with the way he was dazedly looking around.

"Lance?" Keith asked, bending down and gently touching Lance's shoulder hoping to rouse him from whatever effects the drug was doing to him, but Lance gave no indication he heard or even felt Keith which had him worried.

"Lance..." He whispered cradling the dancer's right cheek tenderly as he glanced over the bruises lingering on Lance's arms and legs as well as the dirtied costume he was wearing. Looking back on it, there had been photography equipment as well as makeup stations and clothing racks of costumes in the main room where they entered. Lotor must've been forcing Lance to perform some kind of fucked up modeling show for his enjoyment, that bastard.

Shiro joined Keith by standing on the other side of Lance's bed, bending down to carefully inspect one nasty bruise near Lance's temple as officers and Allura filed in and out of the room, a call for paramedics having been made for Lance as Lotor remained unconscious after the hit Shiro gave him. With Lotor caught and out of the way, their main concern now was Lance, hoping whatever he'd been given would wear off soon. They didn't come all this way pining after the no-nonsense, flexible, talented dancer with a heart as sweet as his baking, only for him to be taken away from them.

But with Lance lying there unresponsive, and them not knowing what he'd been given, all they could do was wait for the paramedics to show up and hope Lance would stay awake long enough to find out whether he'd be okay or not.

Hopefully he'll wake up soon. 

 

******

 

Lance stared blearily up at the cracked ceiling above him as he dully heard the commotion outside his locked room. The drug was coursing through his system, soon he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open or even stay awake long enough to see himself and Lotor off on that jet. 

He heard there was some sweet street fashion districts, maybe Lotor would let him shop there once in a while.

Lance sighed, turning slowly to shift to his side, his limbs too heavy and movements sluggish. There was a huge bang from outside, but to Lance it was as if he was hearing an explosion inside the room that was dulled through headphones. Figuring it was Lotor throwing another bratty temper tantrum, Lance steadied his gaze to stare at a particular water stain on the wall next to the door, finding it hilarious though he wasn't laughing(he probably wasn't able to with the way his face felt frozen) noting the stain looked kinda like Steve Harvey. Another dull bang came from the doorway, this one sounded louder but Lance paid it no mind, continuing to stare at the stain instead. He felt gentle hands touching him then, the touch feeling different from earlier as if it was a different person now, fingers smoothing through the tangles in his bangs before pushing them back as another set of hands carefully shifted him onto his back, their gentle forcing being careful to not touch any of the bruises scattered along Lance's arms, he noted. Lance merely kept staring at the stain, his head not bothering to move along with his body, he vaguely heard what sounded like voices above him, a small part wondering if it was the same women from earlier who had brought him here, but they wouldn't be gentle with him so it couldn't be them.

_"Lance..can..hear me?"_ 'Bitch barely,' Lance hummed low, wondering who this person was and why did they sound familiar. Ugh, he was absolutely in no mood for visitors right now to be honest, especially if it was L'oreal again.

_"..obviously drugged. Let's..leave him..for n-..the ambulance gets..."_ Lance blinked, these people were definetly not Lotor's or his goonies. So who were they?

Straining his eyesight to focus, Lance groaned as he willed his muscles to work, trying to ease his upper body up with the same gentle hands helping him, one stroking down his back softly and with such care as the other set lingered around his waist and shoulders, providing him support.

_"Lance?"_ one of the voices spoke that had Lance forcing his eyes open, not realizing he had shut them as he was maneuvered into an upright position. The room spun, nearly making Lance tilt sideways if not for the arms around him tightening their grip to prevent him from falling flat on his face.

"Lance? Do you remember what Lotor gave you?" Lance nodded, his eyes opening into thin slits once more with his vision blurry, including the two obvious faces in front of him. Studying them like he was trying to figure out a Wassily Kandinsky painting, Lance reached forward, his hand tracing one of the face shapes, getting an irritated "Oomph!" as his hand smacked into something squishy. The other face shape moved as it chuckled.

"Lance maybe we should let Keith keep his face together in one piece, he may want that later." The other voice joked much to the other's or rather, Keith's disgruntled mumbling. Lance squinted as the shapes grew more detailed, the blurry face shapes becoming more focused with hard edges for jawlines, soft dark hair, one long the other short with white strands in the front and two beefy bodies standing before him, both sets of dark eyes gazing back at him with matching expressions of amusement and worry.

Oh fuck yes, Lance's gaze slowly took in the tall broad figures, one more muscular than the other whereas the other was leaner. Belinda Carlisle was right. Heaven really is a place on Earth. 

Immediately, Lance tried to sit up better, giving them what he hoped was his flirty, easy going smile (he was regrettably informed later it was more of a grimace, like he had passed gas) and flashed them a wink, not realizing how slow and off-putting he looked with the substance still coursing through his system.

"Hello..there officerssszz?" Lance slurred, eyeing the dimly lit badges pinned to their shirts, feeling turned on at the sight just a little bit. "Is that a gun in your pockets..or are you just thrilled to see! Me that is..." Lance trailed off ignoring their dumbfounded expressions, one glancing down confused at his gun with the other just opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Hehe, Lance could think of something more naughtier to do with that mouth and it would involve those handcuffs clipped to the belt. Lance fist pumped mentally at that thought because wow he still had moves even when doped up on rohypnol. Wait, that was one of the questions they asked!

"Rohypnol!" He shouted suddenly, startling his two gorgeous caretakers right before he collapsed forward his body still weak as the two angels scrambled to catch him before he could hit the ground.

"Lance I swear to god, I'm never gonna let you hear the end of this," The shorter of the two groaned, helping his laughing companion ease Lance onto the floor, taking off his vest to create a makeshift pillow under Lance's head.

"I'm never gonna give you up either Mullet. I should be writing you a ticket, you've got fine written all over you." Lance stated much to the larger companion's joy who was hunched over laughing as Mullet kneeled there, stunned.

"Lance..we'll flirt as much as you want later, right now we need to know how much rohypnol Lotor gave you." Non-mullet stated gently, caressing his hair that had Lance sighing at how nice his touch felt.

"He..put it in some tea? I only drank a few sips when I found out what he did." Lance explained as best as he could given his memory was still foggy. These men with him seemed to know him though, if only he could remember who they were. When this was over with, Lance was so going to get their numbers.

"Okay, we'll wait right here until the ambulance comes alright? They're going to check you over, make sure theres nothing else besides the bruises hopefully. We're so sorry we couldn't get here sooner, I'm sorry you had to go through all this." Non-mullet stated, concern and hurt all over his face that had Lance wanting to erase such an expression from this handsome man's face. With that idea in mind, Lance's hand nearly smacked into the officer's face, his fingers poking at Shiro-Shiro?-Shiro's face squinting, all whilst mumbling, "Don't be sad..."

"Why do you keep poking our faces?" Keith chuckled, amused it wasn't him again as Shiro allowed the poking to continue, knowing Lance wasn't in his right mind right now.

"I don't like your face being like that...It makes me sad." Lance explained which had both officers jolting from surprise before easing into somber amusement.

"We just don't like seeing someone we care about being hurt is all. It makes me and Keith both sad to see you hurt but we're glad you're here." Shiro stated with Keith nodding as well. Lance blinked suddenly feeling like there was more to what they were saying, and that even though he was going to be busy in the next couple of hours with the emergency responders, who he could see filing into the room with a stretcher in tow, he knew he would be seeing Shiro and Keith later, their caring, worrying expressions spelling everything out that even Lance's doped up brain could easily read the love and adoration behind the tight lipped smiles. With a small wave as he was carted away, Lance watched the officers fade away out of sight with hope and feelings of adoration blooming in his chest since arriving to this godforsaken place. Hopefully when he wakes, he would be somewhere much warmer, brighter, and with more support by his side than the last time, but after meeting those two, he had a knowing feeling that they would be there with him.

But seriously, he will be saving those handcuffs for later.

 

******

 

"We found more evidence in Lotor's apartment the Prosecution wants us to confirm." Pidge stated walking up to Keith and tossing the file onto his desk which had Keith scowling because great, more paperwork, but also it was the Blue Eyed Butcher case and he wanted every single piece of evidence he could get to charge Lotor a life sentence for his heinous crimes..as well as stalking and kidnapping Lance. There was no way this douchebag was going to get to walk away from this, not even his famous dad could save his ass and sweep this crime under the rug. 

"What else have they found?" Keith asked, scanning through the files contents, as Pidge uneasily shuffled their weight causing Keith to pause as he looked up through his bangs, unnerved that Pidge was so wary of answering for once.

"Well, to start off with, remember that audition tape of Lance as a kid? It wasn't taken from his apartment here in Altea City." Keith frowned at that, wondering how that could unnerve someone as serious and steely as Pidge but their next words left a chill crawling down his spine.

"Well, we got in contact with Lance's family and they told us they've had a series of break-ins in their home. The break-ins were eerily similar to Lance's, nothing of value having been taken. All flatscreen TVs were still there as well as pricey laptops, jewelry, and some spare cash laying around and whatever they kept in a safe upstairs was left untouched. It wasn't until they were told of Lance's situation that they noticed there were some things missing from their home." Pidge explained hedging closer towards the reveal of their story as Keith was kept on his seat, knowing but dreading where this was going.

"And?"

"Apparently the things that were missing were items that either belonged to Lance, or were of some relation to Lance. Baby photos of him for example, swim trophies he won, the audition tape Shiro found at Lotor's apartment, and some old sentimental items. We also tracked a recent flight Lotor had taken at that particular time to Florida and was conveniently in the same town at the time of the break-ins. Dude they found a lock of hair, like actual hair in Lotor's nightstand that belonged to Lance." Pidge described, completely disgusted by the end of it as well as Keith.

"What was he going to do with that?" Keith wondered as Pidge waved their hands exasperated.

"Dude, I don't know, I don't even want to know. If I could erase that peice of knowledge from my brain permanently, I would!" They cried as the two shuddered together.

"Well, thanks for the info Pidge, I'll confirm this to the Prosecution." Keith gave the file a quick flip through, mostly documents from what he could see, and only a few pictures taken of the evidence they found in Lotor's apartment. As Pidge continued to stand there impatiently shuffling in place, Keith finally glanced up, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as Pidge nodded their head towards the door.

"Shiro also sent me to come collect you. Apparently Lance has woken up." They waggled their brows teasingly but let out a squawk of indignation as Keith immediately sprung from his chair, practically pushing the cop aside as he fled away.

"Thanks Pidge, I'll finish that file later!" He yelled while heading for the stairs. He took two at a time, before ultimately vaulting over the railing to hit the ground floor, perfectly landing on his feet. Before he could take off in the direction of the parking lot where his motorcycle was, he heard an astounded and slightly reprimanding "Keith?" which made him freeze.

Keith turned around feeling a little guilty upon seeing his boyfriend, walking up to him in all his uniform glory, a small frown on his face as he approached.

"I get you want to see Lance so bad, but maybe let's not do any dangerous stunts that could land you in the hospital for broken bones." Shiro teased before bending forward and leaving a light kiss on the other's cheek, taking Keith's hand in his and leading him outside in the direction of his squad car.

"I was excited, sue me. I'm anxious to see how Lance is holding up, he's most likely traumatized. I just want him to know that we'll be there to support him and stuff." Keith stated, mumbling that last part as Shiro paused, one hand holding the car door open, looking..tense.

"Look Keith, I know we said we would ask him once this whole ordeal is over, but after what he's been through, we may need to wait a little longer before asking him to be our third in this relationship. He's been through alot emotionally and I think we need to respect that and give him any space he may want for a little while." Shiro carefully stated as Keith sagged in disappointment but nodded, completely understanding.

"Yeah, I kinda felt we would need to take this slow for now. I'm fine with waiting, I'm not always patient but for Lance, I'll wait forever if I have to. After all, I waited for you." Keith stated firmly, locking eyes with Shiro who blushed lightly before smiling back.

"I promise you won't have to wait for me ever again." Shiro stated, leaning over carefully and locking lips with Keith who leaned closer as well. The two eventually got inside the car, cheeks flaming and both of them looking a little less put together after that smooch. The drive thankfully wouldn't be too long, Keith kept glancing out the window as Shiro drove, seeing many newsstands and digital billboards announcing the Butcher's arrest. Thankfully, the public as well as the media hadn't found out about Lotor's true intentions, not aware of the Butcher's true plan, and that he was killing because of his obsession with a certain dancer.

And Keith hoped to keep it that way, last thing Lance would want or need in his life is to be questioned about the Butcher from nosey reporters while he's recovering from his ordeal. The media would be all over him, eating up his story and not giving him another moment of peace until the next big news event happened.

'And that was not the life Lance deserved,' Keith thought frowning to himself. Lance deserved only happiness and peace after his ordeal and Keith knew he would see to it that Lance got that from now on. He knew Shiro would also be just as protective of the other man as he was.

And as they arrived at the hospital, waiting for the elevator to take them to Lance's floor, Keith felt a newfound bravery come over him, his steps a bit more hurried while ignoring Shiro's knowing chuckle. Keith paced quickly to Lance's room, eager to reveal his feelings for the other and eager to invite the dancer into something warm that could blossom between all three of them. It may take some time, but Keith was discovering that some things were worth waiting for, that unlike some tough cases, Lance McClain was someone he would wait patiently for with Shiro by his side however long Lance needed or wanted, for they knew there was a special bond between them that could potentially grow more over time. 

 

***** 

 

Lance would lie and say he has never done drugs in his life.

Because of course like any college kid who was curious and wanted to fit in and try new things, he had partaken in a few strange methods to achieve a certain 'high' but that was mostly spent by finishing off a bowl with his two roomies fighting over the last slice of pizza in the fridge.

That was a bloody night.

So being drugged wasn't something Lance wasn't unfamiliar with, but being drugged nonconsensually was pretty fucked up and why he was having trouble coming to terms with everything that's happened.

But at least his sister was there.

"Lance, how are you feeling?" She asked, the look on her face nearly causing Lance to burst into tears with how his older sister looked it had him choking up, recalling the hours he spent in that warehouse being ordered around by Lotor, who treated Lance like his personal plaything, who thought for some reason they were a couple! The touches, the lingering kisses Lotor left on his hands and arms, and the goosebumps that trailed along his skin after, Lance shuddered recoiling on himself a little bit from the memory.

"I...I don't know honestly. I'm horrified and feel so hollow, but I'm so releived I was saved in time. I'm both angry and sad somehow, I just want to scream and tear my throat out and also lock myself away and never see anyone ever again." Lance spoke, his voice quiet and a little broken. He had never felt like that before, sure he had his moments where he didn't know what the next day would be like. Subjects like paying rent, moving away from his family, whether he'd ever meet anyone special were always a heavy topic to him, but this wasn't something he could just shrug and hope for the best. He was nearly taken to another country as someone's toy. No sane person would be alright after that. His solemn answer had Veronica tearing up, having never seen her little brother like this before, and unsure how to help exactly.

"I'm so sorry Lance this happened to you. I want you to know if you need anything, whether its just a shoulder to cry on, or another secret siblings gab session, I'll always be here for you. Our family will be there for you as well." Veronica joked bringing forth a smile out of Lance as she wiped a few stray tears away from his face. Fuck, when did he start crying?

"Yeah? I can't wait to see her again and Dad. I'm sure Luis will come with Lisa and the kiddos, Marco and Rachel as well...Goddess I've missed everyone." Lance sighed, wishing they were here now as Veronica squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"They'll be here. I think there was some evidence they had to turn into the police as well, they should be here soon though." Lance nodded, relaxing back into the pillows, Veronica adjusting the blankets over him, wanting to make sure her little brother was cosy in case he felt like resting before their family showed up. Goddess knows their Mama won't ever let Lance go once she gets here. As she was smoothing down the sheets, her hand simply brushing Lance's arm when he abruptly jerked it away, a gasp slipping out that had them both freezing.

"Lance? Are you ok? Do I need to call someone?" Veronica pressed, already out of her chair, arms hovering unsure as Lance shook his head, willing his body to relax.

"I-I'm fine. It's just..I keep thinking I'm still there..with him," Lance hesitated, feeling a small bubble of emotion building up on the back of his throat. "It feels like he's here with me now, the touches just never stop, and neither does the terror of being stalked, those letters, and I wish I could forget them but I can't." Lance took another shuddering gasp, Veronica cradling him to her chest as he sucked in a sharp breath continuing, "I'm like a broken movie..where the film is stuck and my memories keep playing the same footage over and over." Lance swallowed, willing his voice to remain steady as the waterworks crept up behind his eyes while Veronica shifted closer, sitting on the bed next to him and curling in closer to gently nudge him into a hug.

"Oh Lance...I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered repeatedly, cradling him closer as Lance turned his head to hide into his sister's embrace, wanting to turn away from the world to hide for a bit as his sister patted his back, hugging him gently but firmly, letting him know he wasn't alone, nor stuck in that place with Lotor. He appreciated the gesture but knew once his mother arrived, he would definetly be relying on her hugs over anyone else's but for now, his sister's will do.

There was a gentle knock that had them separating, glancing curiously at the door. They knew it wasn't their family, all those years with all of them living in that small three bedroom farmhouse, they learned to just barge in on each other during their private moments, which included bathroom needs and apparently hospital rooms.

"Uh...Come in?" Lance asked unsure and bracing himself for the tears and never-ending hugs followed by 'My baby!'.

The door opened, revealing two men whom immediately brought a blush to Lance's cheeks as their smiles came into view as they stepped inside, a bouquet of flowers in Shiro's hand and Keith..holding a bag of some sort...Hopefully it wasn't full of knives. Veronica rose to her feet to greet them, curiously wondering who these men were and why Lance was suddenly so bashful but one glance at the badges gleaming on their pinned jackets, she knew instantly and her curious glance turned mischeivious, shooting a knowing look towards Lance who flushed even more, hunching further into the bedsheets wishing he could suddenly disappear.

Of all days for Lance to be wearing only a hospital gown and under some thin blankets!

"O-Officers!" Lance smiled, feeling nervous sweat gather at his brow as Veronica studied the men before them, eyes narrow and focused behind her glasses as she sized them up for scrutiny. After the awkward moment passed she nodded, apparently having approved of the men, sending a conspiratorial wink Lance's way which only horrified the younger sibling more. Thankfully Shiro stepped forward, giving Lance and Veronica a small smile, ready to save the moment and be his gentlemanly polite self as always which Lance greatly appreciated.

'Oh wonderful sweet Shiro. Polite as shit like always' Lance thought releived. 

"Lance, its good to see you awake. We've been really worried since you left the warehouse." Shiro stated, stepping a bit closer, as Lance gazed at him similar to Veronica. Shiro was dressed in his usual Police Captain's getup with Keith following right behind wearing his usual dark clothes, looking like some modern Grim Reaper. Probably not a good idea given they were in a hospital.

'Hot damn are they sexy,' Lance thought, images of undressing them right there, abs on display popping up in his mind, but he stopped that train of particular interest because one, he wasn't in a relationship with them, and two, his sister was right there. Dammit Veronica!

"Y-yes! That I am! Wait, you were worried about lil' ol' me? Why Captain, I'm so flattered." Lance wiggled his eyebrows earning a snort from Keith.

"Good to see your sense of humor is still the same. You had us all worried, we were pretty scared we wouldn't get to you on time." He admitted, taking a spot next to Lance on the opposite side of the bed, facing Veronica who decided to jump in.

"That's Lance for you, always ready with a joke to lighten the mood. So..I'm guessing you two are the, and I quote; 'handsome cops with buns of steel' who saved my brother's ass like a Disney princess." She stated, an amused smirk on her face as Keith choked, thrown off by that comparison while Shiro stuck his empty hand out, calm as ever.

"I'm Captain Takashi Shirogane and this is Detective Keith Kogane. Pleasure to meet you." Veronica smiled, genuinely this time, shaking the offered hand. "Veronica McClain, one of Lance's sisters, and can I just express my thanks for saving my baby brother? I cannot thank you guys enough for looking out for Lance, especially with all the trouble he gets into. Just a heads up, he gets into frequent scuffles, he's a trouble magnet." Veronica rolled her eyes as the cops chuckled, Lance however, looked mortified.

"V-Veronica! Knock it off! We're not teenagers anymore!" Lance whined, voice taking on a squeaky offended pitch that had them all laughing with Shiro and Keith glad to hear his voice again over anything else, especially since the last time they spoke, Lance was slurring his words, completely unintelligible at times.

"So...You're here." Lance pointed out which drew out a chuckle from Keith.

"Yeah we are, you gonna toss some more pick up lines our way? Or do you want to go back to that 'buns of steel' comment." Keith asked smirking as Lance's face flushed bright red in embarasment.

"I was on drugs! I didn't know what I was saying!" Lance protested sinking into his bed as Veronica snorted, deciding to torment her brother further. "You think thats funny, Lance once tried flirting with the dentist after he had his wisdom teeth removed. It was not pretty."

"Veronica!"

"There was drool everywhere. It was the Niagara Falls of drool." Veronica laughed dodging a stray pillow Lance had lodged at her head. "Stop exposing me like this! What happened to Secret Siblings for life?" Lance whined ducking back under the blanket again blushing as he heard not only Veronica's annoying laughter but also the deep chuckles of Shiro and Keith.

"Well, I'm going to go see what kind of snacks this hospital has. I'm sure I'll find some Skittles here somewhere..." Veronica excused herself quickly, turning on her heel only to spin around in place at the door to mouth at Lance 'go for it' before shooting him the finger guns salute and ducking out before Lance could hurl another pillow at her.

And then there were three...

Normally Lance would be thrilled to be alone with both Shiro and Keith, now he only felt awkward considering the last time he saw them, he was incredibly doped up on rohypnol. He could barely remember what it was they talked about, his memory for the most part fuzzy. He certainly remembered Lotor's ugly presence being there, standing over him like some sort of Disney villain that had him shuddering once again. He hoped he never saw that man again for the rest of his life.

"Lance?" Lance glanced up, gazing back at the slightly concerned looks Shiro and Keith were sending him that had him remembering their previous conversation, or rather Lance's flirtatious advances. 

"Nooooo, don't look at me!" Lance whined from underneath the hospital blanket much to Shiro's amusement and Keith's exasperation.

"Lance come out." Keith grumbled only to receive a muffled snarky response, "I did ten years ago buddy, you're a little late to that party." Shiro was straining to hold back his laughter as Keith unamused, yanked the blanket away despite Lance's high-pitched yelp and attempt to cover himself as if he was indecent.

 'It seems he also hasn't lost his dramatic personality either,' Keith thought smiling as Lance straightened the front of his gown, giving both of them a shy, flustered look while trying to look put together.

"So..what can I do for you two gentlemen?" He asked leaning back to strike a sexy pose as Shiro stepped forward, taking Veronica's abandoned seat and handing over the bouquet of flowers to Lance who gasped, eyes growing big and soft as he gazed upon each flower.

"We wanted to stop by and check on you. Heard they were keeping you overnight to make sure all the drugs were gone from your system and figured you'd like some company." Shiro smiled as Lance sniffed the flowers, eyeing the pink hydrangeas a bit closely before eyeing the bag Keith held in his hand, an understanding crossing his face as he raised an eyebrow at the detective who stared back cluelessly.

"Oh yeah! Here you go." Keith handed over the bag, Lance now seeing the logo from Hunk's bakery and eagerly opening it see it was filled with dozens of Lance's favorites which Hunk was more than happy to give to Keith free of charge as 'thanks for saving his best buddy from becoming some rich freak's personal sex slave or something'. 

"Oh, wow! Thanks! The food here is awful! You'd think with how much they charge you for a visit, they could afford better quality food." Lance joked before tearing into the bag and digging out one of Hunk's custard filled pastries that had Lance moaning like he was having an orgasm much to the cop's self consciousness grateful no-one was nearby to see their expressions.

Finally Lance had eaten all of it, licking off the sugary dough and custard from his fingers, not helping the poor officer's awkwardness any further before turning to them a flushed color blooming over his cheeks and the back of his neck. "So I just want to say I'm sorry for coming on too strong back there when you two rescued me from that hellhole. I had no clue what was going on, haha." Lance joked or tried to, as Shiro and Keith exchanged looks before Keith moved to sit down on the edge of Lance's bed, taking his hand in his, thumb gently stroking the skin between Lance's thumb and pointer finger much to the dancer's bewilderment and rising hope expressed on his face.

"It's okay because if I'm being honest or, if we're being honest, we were just happy to see that you're still alive and that we got to you before Lotor could do anything else. You flirting with us despite your condition just lightened the mood somewhat." Keith joked at the end as Lance sniffed insulted.

"Well thank you for saving me either way and I'm sorry for making a fool of myself back there, I mean how crazy was I acting? Like there would be anything more between us than friendship right?" Lance asked chuckling unsure until Shiro got up and sat on the other side of Lance, him and Keith effectively cornering the other in his bed as they stared back at him with carefully constructed masks, concealing their true feelings. It was Shiro who finally spoke, breaking his mask and looking somewhat unsure himself.

"It was a little unexpected but honestly..these past few weeks just made us realize how badly we've fallen for you and neither I, or Keith want to let you go without telling you how we feel." Shiro stated, his hand reaching up and tracing a gentle finger along the curve of Lance's lower lip which trembled from shock.

"Wait, hold up! This is, but you two already..unless..you two..." Lance mused glancing at both of them seeing their matching nods and smiles of encouragement that had more red blooming along his face, heating up his cheeks and neck in realization as Lance covered his face with his hands, his brain effectively shut off temporarily as Keith leaned forward to pluck those hands away.

"Look, we really like you alot and Shiro and I both want to date you and have you join our relationship. You can say no if you want, we understand." Keith finished petulantly that drew out a snort of amusement from Lance.

"Hmm..date two handsome cops who saved my life and genuinely seem to care for me...I don't know Keith I might have to think on it." Lance teased earning a snort of amusement from Shiro who watched Lance howl in laughter at the scowl that took over Keith's face.

"I will take those pastries back if you're going to be a dick." Keith threatened but held no real malice in his tone, as he playfully snatched the bag from Lance, holding it away from Lance's reach, a look of fondness in his eyes as Lance squawked insulted. He was too far gone in love with this person and would never do anything to cause Lance hurt in anyway. Lance merely huffed before grabbing the bag and hugging it close to his heart, and most importantly, out of Keith's reach.

"Noooo..these are my get well soon pastries! They're very sweet!" Lance argued with a cute pout on his face that had Shiro leaning forward tilting Lance's head back before moving in closer.

"How about something else that's sweet?" He offered much to Lance's confusion when Shiro moved in closer, their lips connecting and filling Lance with a new warmth and sweetness as promised, bag of pastries forgotten. When they pulled apart, Lance had a stunned look upon his face gazing back at Shiro who grinned with such impish playfulness while Keith smiled at them.

"So what's he taste like?" Keith asked much to Lance's flabbergasted disbelief which grew into shock as Shiro merely leaned forward, his lips now pressing against Keith's offering him the lingering taste of Lance from his lips. Lance fidgeted as the two cops continued to kiss, obviously comfortable doing this with each other while Lance was still quite new to such bold displays of affection. He couldn't wait to show these two how bold he really was in public. He didn't get red-flagged all throughout high school for PDA for nothing! Finally, the two cops leaned back from each other, sweet smiles towards each other on their faces that had Lance melting at the sight before Keith spoke.

"Not bad...I might need another sample, just to make sure though." Before Lance could question what he was suggesting, Keith had surged forward, in true Keith fashion and captured Lance's lips with his own, Lance's gasp swallowed up hungrily by the other's lips that were now gently biting and giving Lance a taste of him that had Lance moaning low from the blunt force of the kiss, remembering his promise to get these two to bust out the handcuffs for one night.

After they've had a couple of dates first though, Lance decided, leaning back once the kiss was over and smiling at the idea of this new beginning for him that came after the traumatic storm he endured the past few weeks. As two different hands each gripped one of his, his body soon joined by two other bodies, somehow the three of them fitting on his tiny hospital bed, Lance knew that the storm he endured would soon be forgotten easily, so long as Shiro and Keith remained by his side to help ground him, by reminding him how much they loved him, and that noone else, like Lotor would hurt him ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the end, I know pretty..tame I guess. I'll try to make up for it in the epilogue I just felt bad for not posting over a month, alot of shit has happened, a couple good things but mostly alot of shitty things thats been one after the other since Mother's Day which is why it took me so long to put a chapter out or work on this fic in general. I'll try to do better for you guys, especially for those who have been waiting for weeks for me to update and leave me very inspiring, wonderful comments. Seriously, for something thats only a hobby to me, I really appreciate the positive feedback and every kudos this fic and my other fics get, its kinda nice to know others seem to like my discombobulated storyline process. 
> 
> But yeah, this is the end but not the official end-end, that will come soon but I'm sorry to say I can't say when, I work a full time job and I try to have a social life on some occasions so I'm not always on my laptop like I used to be. Hopefully you guys understand, hopefully people still read this fic lmao if not thats cool, I primarily write content I want to read, my brain just sometimes gets a little fried along the way, college will do that kiddos.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this is a fun read so far, can't say when my update schedule will be, but hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon within the next few weeks! Thank you for reading and giving this a try!


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